INCREASING INCIDENCE OF HIP-FRACTURES IN FINLAND

The incidence of hip fracture in Finland was studied for the year 1988 . During 1988, 6139 patients were treated for a fresh hip fracture. Th ree out of four hip fracture patients were women, and the occurrence o f cervical fractures was 2.8 times and that of trochanteric fractures 2.5 times more common in women than in men. The incidence rates of hip fractures per 100000 were 174 in women, 70 in men and 123 in the whol e population. The mean hospitalization time for fresh hip fractures wa s 33 days for cervical fractures and 38 days for trochanteric fracture s. The costs of primary hospitalizations due to fresh hip fractures in 1988 were estimated at US $ 66 million