EPIDEMIOLOGY OF FRACTURES IN 15000 ADULTS - THE INFLUENCE OF AGE AND GENDER

We report a prospective study of the incidence of fractures in the adu lt population of Edinburgh, related to age and gender, Over a two-year period, 15 293 adults, 7428 males and 7865 females, sustained a fract ure, and 5208 (34.0%) required admission. Between 15 and 49 years of a ge, males were 2.9 times more likely to sustain a fracture than female s (95% CI 2.7 to 3.1), Over the age of 60 years, females were 2.3 time s more likely to sustain a fracture than males (95% CI 2.1 to 2.4), Th ere were three main peaks of fracture distribution: the first was in y oung adult males, the second was in elderly patients of both genders, mainly in metaphyseal bone such as the proximal femur, although diaphy seal fractures also showed an increase in incidence, The third increas e in the incidence of fractures, especially of the wrist, was seen to start at 40 years of age in women, Our study has also shown that 'oste oporotic' fractures became evident in women earlier than expected, and that they were not entirely a postmenopausal phenomenon.