Falls are the leading cause of hip fractures:
- Over 350,000 hip fractures occur each year (1)
- Osteoporosis related fractures cost approx. $17b (2005) and hip fractures account for 72% of costs (2)
- Osteoporosis related fractures result in over 180,000 nursing home admissions annually (2)
- Approximately 90% of hip fractures are the result of a fall (3)
- 9.9 million Americans have Osteoporosis and an additional 43.1 million have low bone density (2)
- 1 in 3 women over the age of 50 will experience an osteoporotic fracture (4)
- For those who suffer a fractured hip recovery can be lengthy - 40% will be unable to walk independently and 60% will require assistance a year later (5)
- Over 20% of those who suffer a hip fracture die within 12 months (6)
- 25% of hip fractures occur in those under the age of 65 (7)
- The World Health Organization recommend hip protectors. (8)
- Burden of Musculoskeletal Diseases in the United States: Prevalence, Societal and Economic Cost. Rosemont, IL, American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons, February 2008.
- The Clinician’s Guide to Prevention and Treatment of Osteoporosis. National Osteoporosis Foundation (April 2014)
- Center for Disease Control and Prevention http://www.cdc.gov/HomeandRecreationalSafety/Falls/adultfalls.html/
- IOF (International Osteoporosis Foundation) http://www.iofbonehealth.org/avoiding-falls
- Magaziner J, Simonsick EM, Kashner TM, et al. (1990) Predictors of functional recovery one year following hospital discharge for hip fracture: a prospective study. J Gerontol 45:M101.
- Cooper C, Atkinson EJ, Jacobsen SJ, et al. (1993) Population-based study of survival after osteoporotic fractures. Am J Epidemiol 137:1001.
- IOF (international Osteoporosis Foundation) http://www.iofbonehealth.org/facts-statistics
- WHO (World Health Organization) http://www.who.int/mediacentre/factsheets/fs344/en/