The incidence of cervical and trochanteric fractures of the proximal femur in 1999 in Niigata Prefecture, Japan.

The purpose of this study was to determine the incidence of cervical and trochanteric fractures of the proximal femur in 1999 in Niigata Prefecture, Japan, and to compare this incidence with those previously reported in Niigata in 1985, 1987, 1989, and 1994. The authors visited all hospitals within Niigata Prefecture having an orthopedic department and reviewed the medical records and radiographs of all patients who sustained such fractures in 1999. The population of Niigata Prefecture was determined in 1999 to be 2 486 999 (1 208 195 males and 1 278 804 females). The population over 65 years of age was 515 290 (210 564 males and 304 726 females), representing 20.7% of the total population. In 1999, there were 1697 cervical or trochanteric fractures, in 400 males and 1297 females, with a male-to-female ratio of 1 : 3.2. The incidence of these fractures in persons over 65 years of age was 308.7 fractures per 100 000 per year. This incidence increased from 1985 to 1989 and from 1989 to 1994, but after that, the rate of increase in incidence from 1994 to 1999 slowed down slightly. This suggests that the prevention of fractures in the elderly population in Niigata Prefecture influenced the lower ratio.