Hip fractures in northern Sweden 1973-1984. A comparison of rural and urban populations.

The hip-fracture incidence in persons aged 50 years and older in the two northernmost counties of Sweden was studied during three periods between 1973 and 1984. The mean age rose from 75 to 78 years, and the annual number of fractures increased from 511 to 754. Half of this increase could be attributed to demographic aging. For persons 80 years and older, the fracture incidence in 1983/84 was higher (P less than 0.01) than the fracture incidence in 1973/74. The women/men ratio was approximately 2:1 during the survey, while the ratio cervical/trochanteric fracture type changed from 1.7:1 to 1.8:1. The crude fracture incidence rate rose from 4.4 to 5.8 fractures per 1,000 women 50 years and older; the corresponding figures for men were 2.3 and 3.4. Comparison of a rural mountain population with an urban population revealed a lower age-adjusted hip-fracture incidence rate in the rural area during the final part of the study (P less than 0.001). In the rural population, there was no change in age-specific incidence during the survey, while in the urban area the age-specific incidence in person 75 years and older was higher in 1983/84 compared with 1973/74.