Hip Fracture Risk Factors in the Elderly Save

As risk of hip fracture increases with advanced age, our knowledge of risk factors for hip fracture among very old people remains limited.

A population-based study from Sweden was designed to investigate risk factors for hip fracture among very old people, including individuals with dementia and persons living in residential care facilities.

A total of 953 participants were interviewed and assessed during home visits between 2000 and 2012. When appropriate, or due to cognitive impairment, relatives or otherwise authorized representatives provided informed consent.

Six following factors were independently associated with increased incidence of hip fracture in the study group:

1.  Walking indoors with help from no more than one person (hazard ratio [HR]=8.57; 95 % confidence interval [CI], 1.90–38.71)
2.  Parkinson’s disease (HR=5.12; 95 % CI, 1.82–14.44)
3.  Current smoking (HR= 4.38; 95 % CI 2.06–9.33)
4.  Delirium in the previous month (HR=2.01; 95 % CI, 1.15–3.49)
5.  Underweight (body mass index 22; HR=1.74, 95 % CI, 1.09–2.77)
6.  Age (HR= 1.09; 95 % CI, 1.04–1.14)

Only bilateral hip prostheses at baseline was associated with decreased the risk of hip fracture (HR=0.37; 95 % CI, 0.15–0.91).

These results may help to identify elderly patients at risk for fragilty fractures and help to develop new effective preventive measures.