Is This Broken Bone Because of Abuse? Characteristics and Comorbid Diagnoses in Older Adults with Fractures.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the relationship between individual characteristics and potential correlates of elder abuse in older adults who present with fractures.

DESIGN

Cross-sectional analysis of deidentified data extracted from medical records.

SETTING

Academic medical center.

PARTICIPANTS

Individuals aged 65 and with a primary diagnosis of any fracture admitted to an outpatient department or emergency department (ED) in a single southern California medical center over a 36-month period (N = 652).

MEASUREMENTS

Participant characteristics included demographic characteristics, number of medical visits, and point of service. Corresponding International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision (ICD-9) codes, E-codes, and V-codes were extracted to identify cause, location, and type of fracture. The presence of 13 potential correlates of abuse as captured by ICD-9 codes were extracted and summed. Descriptive statistics and regression models were used for analyses.

RESULTS

Mean age of participants was 77.2, 58% were female (58%), 60% were white (60%), and 46% had one or more potential correlates of abuse. In bivariate analyses, older age (≥80), dementia, seeking care in the ED (vs inpatient or outpatient clinics), only one visit to a medical facility (vs multiple visits) in the 36-month study period, cause of fracture as something other than a fall, and fractures of the head or face were more likely to have at least one correlate of abuse. In logistic regression, dementia (B = 0.794, standard error (SE) = 0.280); seeking care in the ED (vs outpatient or outpatient clinics) (B = 1.86, SE = 0.302); at least two visits to a medical facility (vs multiple visits) (B = -0.585, SE = 0.343); and fracture of the back (B = 0.730, SE = 0.289), head (B = 1.22, SE = 0.333), and face (B = 1.28, SE = 0.474) were associated with the presence of at least one correlate of abuse.

CONCLUSION

Certain characteristics in older adults with fracture are associated with potential correlates of abuse. Medical practitioners should have a heightened awareness when these signs are present.