Reducing hip and non-vertebral fractures in institutionalised older adults by restoring inadequate intakes of protein and calcium is cost-saving.

BACKGROUND

older adults in aged care account for 30% of the population burden of hip fractures. Nutritional interventions to correct under nutrition reduce these debilitating fractures, perhaps partly by reducing falls and slowing deterioration in bone morphology.

OBJECTIVE

to determine whether a nutritional approach to fracture risk reduction in aged care homes is cost-effective.

DESIGN

cost-effectiveness was estimated based on results from a prospective 2-year cluster-randomised controlled trial and secondary data. Intervention residents consumed a total of 3.5 daily servings of milk, yoghurt and/or cheese, resulting in 1,142 mg of calcium and 69 g of protein compared with the daily intakes of 700 mg of calcium and 58 g of protein consumed by the control group.

SETTING

fifty-six aged care homes.

PARTICIPANTS

residents for 27 intervention (n = 3,313) and 29 control (n = 3,911) homes.

METHODS

ambulance, hospital, rehabilitation and residential care costs incurred by fracture were estimated. The incremental cost-effectiveness ratios per fracture averted within a 2-year time horizon were estimated from the Australian healthcare perspective applying a 5% discount rate on costs after the first year.

RESULTS

intervention providing high-protein and high-calcium foods reduced fractures at a daily cost of AU$0.66 per resident. The base-case results showed that the intervention was cost-saving per fracture averted, with robust results in a variety of sensitivity and scenario analyses. Scaling the benefits of intervention equates to a saving of AU$66,780,000 annually in Australia and remained cost-saving up to a daily food expenditure of AU$1.07 per resident.

CONCLUSIONS

averting hip and other non-vertebral fractures in aged care residents by restoring nutritional inadequacy of protein and calcium is cost-saving.