Epidemiology of cervical and trochanteric fractures of the proximal femur in 1996 in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan.

The goal of this study was to determine the incidence of cervical and trochanteric fractures of the proximal femur in 1996 in Kaohsiung City, Taiwan. Kaohsiung City is the industrial and commercial center of southern Taiwan, with a population of 1,433,621 in 1996. The number of individuals over 65 years of age accounted for 6.2% of the total population. Data from the archives of reimbursement of the National Health Insurance program were used to investigate the incidence of fractures of the proximal femur. This study detected 580 cervical and trochanteric fractures (40.5 fractures per 100,000 population per year) in 261 males (35.8 fractures per 100,000 men per year) and 319 females (45.3 fractures per 100,000 women per year), with 420 (72%) of these fractures occurring in individuals over 65 years of age. The age-specific incidences of cervical and trochanteric fractures increased exponentially with age in both genders. The overall ratio of cervical to trochanteric fractures was 1:1.04. The mean ages of women with cervical or trochanteric fractures (71.6 and 74.0 years, respectively) were significantly higher than those of males (59.9 and 64.8 years, respectively; P < 0.01). The age-adjusted incidences of fractures of the proximal femur in Kaohsiung City were higher than in other Asian countries, but were lower than in Western countries such as the United States and Norway. The urban lifestyle and low daily calcium intake may be responsible for this increased incidence of proximal femoral fractures in Kaohsiung City.