Incidence of hip fracture in Shiraz, Iran

Hip fracture, the most serious complication of osteoporosis, puts the burden of a lot of costs for treatment on any health system. Previous reports on rates of hip fracture in Asian countries differ a lot. The aim of this study was to estimate the incidence rate of hip fracture in Shiraz, Iran. In Shiraz, Iran, all operating-room logs with diagnosis of hip fracture were reviewed for hip fractures caused by a simple fall in patients over 50 years, during March 21, 2000, to March 21, 2003. According to patients' medical records, age, sex, type of fracture (intertrochanteric, neck, subtrochanteric) and patients' regions according to Shiraz municipality divisions were obtained. The age-adjusted incidence rates of hip fracture standardized to the 1985 US white population (325.74/100,000 for men and 519.05/100,000 for women) and to the 1989 US white population (384.61/100,000 for men and 548.17/100,000 for women) were the highest in Asia. The intertrochanteric fractures were significantly higher among females ( p =0.003). The incidence of intertrochanteric and neck fractures were increased with age. In all age groups, females had higher incidence rates, except for ages over 80 years, in which males had higher incidence rates than females. In wealthier regions of the city, the incidence rates were higher than in other regions. High incidence of hip fracture in our population, especially in males over 80 years, shows that preventive strategies for hip fracture and osteoporosis should be considered in males as well as females. Further studies are needed to find incidence rates in other cities, especially in the very urbanized city of Tehran.