INTRODUCTION: Few data are available about the incidence and costs of hip fractures in Italy. We aimed to determine the impact of hip fractures vs. acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: We studied the national hospitalization database to calculate their incidence and costs in adults aged >or=45 between 1999 and 2002. RESULTS: In 2002, there were 86,719 hip fractures with a 10.0% increase over 4 years. We observed a predominance of women (77.1%) and a strong age effect: 92.7% of patients were >or=65 years old and 80% of fractures occurred in women aged >or=75, showing a clear relationship with the incidence of osteoporosis. Hospitalizations due to AMI after 45 years of age in 1999 were only 9% higher than those for hip fracture, although this difference increased over the 4 examined years up to 24%. Considering the DRGs costs, hip fractures resulted in being more expensive than AMI overall and concerning elderly people. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that in the Italian population aged >or=45, hospitalizations following hip fracture and AMI between 1999 and 2002 were comparable, while hip fractures' direct costs were higher and grew faster than costs for AMI. Hip fractures in Italy are a serious medical problem and a leading health-cost driver.
INTRODUCTION: Few data are available about the incidence and costs of hip fractures in Italy. We aimed to determine the impact of hip fractures vs. acute myocardial infarction (AMI). METHODS: We studied the national hospitalization database to calculate their incidence and costs in adults aged >or=45 between 1999 and 2002. RESULTS: In 2002, there were 86,719 hip fractures with a 10.0% increase over 4 years. We observed a predominance of women (77.1%) and a strong age effect: 92.7% of patients were >or=65 years old and 80% of fractures occurred in women aged >or=75, showing a clear relationship with the incidence of osteoporosis. Hospitalizations due to AMI after 45 years of age in 1999 were only 9% higher than those for hip fracture, although this difference increased over the 4 examined years up to 24%. Considering the DRGs costs, hip fractures resulted in being more expensive than AMI overall and concerning elderly people. CONCLUSIONS: This study shows that in the Italian population aged >or=45, hospitalizations following hip fracture and AMI between 1999 and 2002 were comparable, while hip fractures' direct costs were higher and grew faster than costs for AMI. Hip fractures in Italy are a serious medical problem and a leading health-cost driver.
Authors: Sheryl Zimmerman; William G Hawkes; J Richard Hebel; Kathleen M Fox; Eva Lydick; Jay Magaziner Journal: Arch Phys Med Rehabil Date: 2006-03 Impact factor: 3.966
Authors: L Bessette; S Jean; M-P Lapointe-Garant; E L Belzile; K S Davison; L G Ste-Marie; J P Brown Journal: Osteoporos Int Date: 2011-09-17 Impact factor: 4.507
Authors: Prisco Piscitelli; Giovanni Iolascon; Francesca Gimigliano; Alessandra Gimigliano; Alessandra Marinelli; Rosalba Di Nuzzo; Giuseppe Colì; Lucia Di Paola; Elena Gianicolo; Giovanna Chitano; Vincenzo Sbenaglia; Raffaella Gismondi; Marco Greco; Daniele Camilli; Maria Grazia Modena; Maria Luisa Brandi; Alessandro Distante; Alexandru Cozma Journal: Clin Cases Miner Bone Metab Date: 2008-01