Hip fracture incidence among Caucasians in Hawaii is similar to Japanese. A population-based study.

Age-specific hip fracture incidence has been increasing in some parts of the world. The incidence of hip fractures among Japanese on the island of Oahu, Hawaii in 1979-1981 was approximately half that of Caucasians in North America, but similar to the incidence in Japan. We surveyed the incidence on Oahu again in 1991-1995 for all races to compare the incidence among Japanese to the earlier rates, and to other populations, including Caucasians on Oahu. The incidence of hip fracture among Japanese in Hawaii between 1991-1995 had not changed appreciably (compared to 1979-1981), and was similar to that among Caucasians on Oahu. The incidence among Hawaii Japanese and Caucasians was similar to, or lower than Japan overall, and much lower (one-third to one-half) than that reported for Caucasians in North America and Northern Europe, suggesting that the prevalence of certain risk factors may be lower in Hawaii. These findings confirm other studies suggesting that nongenetic factors may be responsible for much of the observed differences in hip fracture incidence between countries, and between races.