Article

Patients with a hip fracture have a high mortality; however, it is
not clear how large the loss of life-years is over an extended observation period.
SUBJECTS AND METHODS:
This was a cohort study involving all patients in
Denmark who suffered a hip fracture between 1977 and 2001 (n = 169,145). The
survival rate for these patients was compared to that for age- and sex-matched
subjects without a hip fracture (n = 524,010). RESULTS: There was a substantial
degree of excess mortality, with a pronounced variation in age and sex. The
absolute number of life-years lost compared to age-matched subjects without a hip
fracture was larger in younger subjects than in older subjects (men aged 51-60
years lived 7.5 years less on average while men over 80 years of age lived 3
years less). Expressed as a percentage, however, older subjects had the largest
relative loss of expected remaining years of life. Men < or = 50 years of age
lost 18% of their expected remaining years of life, as opposed to men > 80 years
of age who lost as much as 58% of their expected remaining years of life. In
women, the trend was similar but less pronounced (27% loss in women < or = 50
years of age vs. 38% in women > 80 years of age). INTERPRETATION: A large
proportion of the estimated remaining life is lost after a hip fracture, even in
younger patients. Prevention may save life years, although not all of the years
lost after a hip fracture may be due to the hip fracture per se.

Langue : ANGLAIS