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Hip fractures represent largest EU economic burden for fragility fractures
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 John A. Kanis |
Researchers from the European Congress on Osteoporosis and Osteoarthritis have concluded that the cost of preventing and treating fragility fractures is a bigger economic burden on the European Union than once thought, with incident hip fractures posing the greatest burden, according to a study published in Osteoporosis International.
The direct cost of treating incident fractures for the 27 member states were €26 billion and the states spent €11 billion for long-term fracture care, according to the abstract. Incident hip fractures were responsible for 55% of the economic burden without including costs for pharmaceutical prevention, according to the abstract. In contrast, pharmaceutical prevention represented a small part of the overall economic burden.
“We have found that pharmaceutical prevention of fractures only accounts for €2 billion EUR in expenditure — approximately 5% of the total cost burden of fractures,” John A. Kanis, MD, lead author and professor emeritus at the University of Sheffeld and WHO Collaborating Centre, stated in a press release. “This small investment in prevention and treatment reflects the fact that osteoporosis, which is most often the underlying cause of fragility fractures, is neither being assessed nor treated in the majority of people at high risk.”
The five largest countries in the European Union were also the countries with the highest economic burden: Germany incurred the largest number, at €9.32 billion, while Italy had €7.24 billion; the U.K. had €5.6 billion; France had €5 billion and Spain had €2.93 billion of the economic burden, according to the abstract.
Researchers used fracture incidence, postoperative care, mortality, population size and pharmaceutical prevention to determine the economic burden of each country, according to the abstract. They categorized the fractures into hip, wrist, vertebral and “other fracture” groups and used a societal perspective whenever possible.
Reference:
- Kanis J, Compston J, Cooper C, et al. The economic burden of fractures in the European Union in 2010. Osteoporous Int. 2012; 23:S57-S84. doi:10.1007/s00198-012-1923-z.
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