The significance and a comparative analysis of the epidemiology of hip fractures.

A review of the literature on the epidemiology of hip fractures demonstates the predominance of females. Women comprise 70 to 80% of patients with hip fractures. The average age is generally in the eighth decade. Actual incidence rates vary from one study to another, with lower rates among blacks and apparently lower rates from tropical countries. Osteoporosis is more common among patients with hip fractures than in controls and is somewhat more common in intertrochanteric fractures than in femoral neck fractures. Most hip fractures result from comparatively minor falls, such as falls from a bed, a chair, or from a standing position, especially among the elderly. It is estimated that more than 200,000 hip fractures occur each year in the United States, and that the cost of caring for these patients is more than $750,000,000. Approximately 19% of these patients die as a result of the fracture. This contributes significantly to the total number of accidental deaths, which in turn is the fourth largest category in the list of causes of death in the United States.