Although the number of hospital discharges for hip fractures has increased in recent years due to an aging population, several studies indicate a decreasing rate of hip fractures among white women and men, both in the United States and worldwide, by as much as an annualized 1.5% per year since the early 1990s.1,2,3,4,5 One recent study reports a reduction in the 10-year hip fracture probability for the white population, based on an updated study of hospital discharges using the National Inpatient Sample (NIS).6
The most recent national examination of hip fracture trends shown a decline in the age-adjusted incidence rate of fracture of 24.5% in women and 19.2% in men from 1995 to 2005.7 Racial and ethnic differences in the declines in hip fractures incidence have been evaluated. For example, a Medicare population study of hip fractures between 2000 and 2009 reported statistically significant declines in White men and women; however, due to smaller numbers, a decline among Black and Hispanic women is not statistically supported.8 Another study of hip fractures among Hispanics reported an increase in hip fractures in this population.9 Given these declines, the US version of the 10-year fracture probability calculator, FRAX, has been undated.
While declines in hip fracture incidence is being observed, fractures remain a concern because there is some indication the reduction in hip fractures is being offset with fractures in other sites, particularly vertebral fractures, due in large part to extended longevity.4