Sociodemographic factors influence the risk for femur shaft fractures in children: a Swedish case-control study, 1997-2005.

AIM: To investigate how sociodemographic factors relate to the risk of femur shaft fractures in children and how the relationship differs by gender and age.
METHODS: Population-based case-control study. Swedish children (n = 1,874), 0-14 years of age, with a femur shaft fracture diagnostic code occurring between 1997 and 2005 were selected from the Swedish national inpatient register and compared with matched controls (n = 18,740). Demographic, socio-economic and injury data were based on record linkage between six Swedish registers.
RESULTS: The risk of femur shaft fracture increased for children with younger parents or those living in low-income households. Having a parent with a university education reduced the risk. Stratifying for gender and age group, the association between parents' age was evident only for older boys (7-14 years of age) (OR = 1.40; 95% CI 1.04-1.45), and the association between living in low-income households and fracture rate was only seen in older girls (7-14 years) (OR = 1.50; 95% CI 1.01-2.22). Family composition, number of siblings, birth order or receiving social welfare did not influence the fracture risk.
CONCLUSION: Sociodemographic variables influence the rate of femur shaft fractures, in older children the influence differs between boys and girls. ©2013 The Author(s)/Acta Paediatrica ©2013 Foundation Acta Paediatrica.