Changes in first hip fracture rates in British Columbia Canada, 1990-2004

We determined age-standardized first hip fracture rates in British Columbia between 1990 and 2004. We found sex and fracture type rates in keeping with previous reports and that fracture rates have decreased approximately 18% overall in both men and women. Introduction To determine whether there have been changes in the age-, sex-, and subtype-specific first hip fracture rates in Canadian province of British Columbia ( BC) between 1990 and 2004. Methods Records of all persons aged 60 years and older hospitalized with hip fractures in BC between 1985 and 2004 were obtained from the Canadian Institute for Health Information Discharge Abstract Database. Only the first hip fracture records were included, and fractures likely due to causes other than trauma were excluded. Age-and sex-specific rates were calculated using population denominators from Statistics Canada and direct standardization was used. Age-standardized rates allowed for comparison across years with adjustment for age distribution. Results There were 41,990 records of first hip fracture included, and 73% were in women. Trends in age-specific rates by fracture type were similar to previous reports. Between 1990 and 2004, there has been an age-adjusted 18% decrease in first hip fracture rates in women, and 19% decrease in first hip fracture rates in men. The decrease was statistically significant in femoral neck fractures in women, but not in men. Conclusions There has been a decrease in age-adjusted hip fracture rates in BC between 1990 and 2004, which is in contrast to previous projections for hip fracture rates in Canada.