Incidence Rates and Trends of Hip/Femur Fractures in Five European Countries: Comparison Using E-Healthcare Records Databases

• Published in: Calcified tissue international 2014-06, Vol.94 (6), p.580-589
• Main Authors: Requena, G., Abbing-Karahagopian, V., Huerta, C., De Bruin, M. L., Alvarez, Y., Miret, M., Hesse, U., Gardarsdottir, H., Souverein, P. C., Slattery, J., Schneider, C., Rottenkolber, M., Schmiedl, S., Gil, M., De Groot, M. C. H., Bate, A., Ruigómez, A., García Rodríguez, L. A., Johansson, S., de Vries, F., Montero, D., Schlienger, R., Reynolds, R., Klungel, O. H., de Abajo, F. J.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adult; Age Distribution; Aged; Aged, 80 and over; Biochemistry; Biomedical and Life Sciences; Cell Biology; Comparative studies; Databases, Factual; Denmark - epidemiology; Electronic Health Records; Endocrinology; Epidemiology; Female; Femoral Neck Fractures - epidemiology; Fractures; Germany - epidemiology; Hip Fractures - epidemiology; Hip joint; Humans; Incidence; Legs; Life Sciences; Male; Middle Aged; Netherlands - epidemiology; Original Research; Orthopedics; Sex Distribution; Spain - epidemiology; United Kingdom - epidemiology
• ISSN: 0171-967X; 1432-0827
• DOI: 10.1007/s00223-014-9850-y

Hip fractures represent a major public health challenge worldwide. Multinational studies using a common methodology are scarce. We aimed to estimate the incidence rates (IRs) and trends of hip/femur fractures over the period 2003–2009 in five European countries. The study was performed using seven electronic health-care records databases (DBs) from Denmark, The Netherlands, Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom, based on the same protocol. Yearly IRs of hip/femur fractures were calculated for the general population and for those aged ≥50 years. Trends over time were evaluated using linear regression analysis for both crude and standardized IRs. Sex- and age-standardized IRs for the UK, Netherlands, and Spanish DBs varied from 9 to 11 per 10,000 person-years for the general population and from 22 to 26 for those ≥50 years old; the German DB showed slightly higher IRs (about 13 and 30, respectively), whereas the Danish DB yielded IRs twofold higher (19 and 52, respectively). IRs increased exponentially with age in both sexes. The ratio of females to males was ≥2 for patients aged ≥70–79 years in most DBs. Statistically significant trends over time were only shown for the UK DB (CPRD) (+0.7 % per year, P