Past fractures indicate increased risk of hip fracture.

We compared the prevalence of previous fractures among 428 women and 147 men who had hip fractures with the fracture prevalence of the general population. An increased prevalence of previous fractures was found in patients with a hip fracture up to the age of 70 for women and 80 for men. Below these age limits, the probability of a later hip fracture increased with the number of previously sustained fractures.