This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.
Review paper reports changing trends in hip fracture rates around the world
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
According to a review paper published in Osteoporosis International, the rates of age-specific hip fractures around the world have changed in recent years — declining in some countries or regions, while increasing in others.
The worldwide incidence of hip fractures is estimated to reach 6.3 million in 2050, assuming a constant age-specific rate of fracture in men and women, according to a press release from the International Osteoporosis Foundation (IOF). However, a review conducted by Cyrus Cooper, DM, FRCP, and colleagues shows regional trends regarding the rate of hip fractures, examines potential reasons behind these trends and calls for further research.
Cooper and colleagues examined published studies that addressed trends in the incidence of hip and other fragility fractures around the world. They concluded that studies in western populations (including North America, Europe and Oceania) have generally reported clear increases in hip fracture rates until around 1980, when rates reached a plateau or decreased for the following decades. In contrast, the fewer studies in Asia suggest that age-specific rates may be increasing in the region, according to the release.
“It is interesting to see that, in recent decades, the incidence rate of hip fractures have been reported to increase, plateau or decrease in different countries,” Cooper stated in the release. “There is evidently a need for further research to pinpoint the reasons for the decline in rates observed in some regions, as this may help us understand ways to reduce rates of hip fracture worldwide. Data on continuing trends in fragility fracture need to be collected and evaluated as the trends will impact on worldwide economic evaluations of the future burden of osteoporosis and its related fractures.”
The paper also examined possible drivers of these trends, including demographic or environmental factors responsible for changes in Western countries and changes in risk factors influencing bone health later compared to earlier in life. For example, the increase in age-adjusted hip fracture rates in the second half of the last century seen in certain countries may be explained by changes in pattern of physical inactivity, vitamin D insufficiency and increasing survival of the elderly. However, the reasons for a plateau or decrease in rates are still not clear and require further investigation, the IOF release noted.
Cooper and colleagues are members of the IOF Committee of Scientific Advisors Working Group.
References:
- Cooper C, Cole, ZA, Holroyd CR et al. Secular trends in the incidence of hip and other osteoporotic fractures. Osteoporosis International. 2011. doi: 10.1007/s00198-011-1601-6.
- www.iofbonehealth.org
- Disclosures: The authors of the report have no relevant financial disclosures.
Follow ORTHOSuperSite.com
on Twitter