Epidemiology of proximal femoral fractures in South Korea

We determined the incidence of femoral neck, intertrochanteric, and subtrochanteric fractures and compared the demographic characteristics of each fracture group in the Korean population. Purpose All proximal femur fractures (femoral neck, intertrochanteric, and subtrochanteric fracture) have been considered to have similar demographics and to be related with osteoporosis. However, there has been lack of comparison with demographics of each fracture. Our purposes were to determine the incidences of femoral neck, intertrochanteric, and subtrochanteric fracture and to compare the demographic characteristics of each fracture group in the Korean population. Methods We assessed the demographic characteristics of proximal femoral fractures (femoral neck, intertrochanteric, and subtrochanteric) in the entire Korean population in 2010 by accessing nationwide data from the Health Insurance Review Assessment Service (HIRA). After proper identification using International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10) codes, we calculated absolute number and age-and gender-specific incidence rates for each proximal femoral fracture group. Results The incidences of femoral neck, intertrochanteric, and subtrochanteric fractures were 29.3, 26.8, and 2.0 per 100,000 persons, respectively. In a population of over 60-year-old individuals, the incidences of hip fracture (femoral neck and intertrochanteric fracture) in men and women were 260.0 and 527.0 per 100,000 persons, and the incidences of subtrochanteric fracture in men and women were 7.2 and 13.2 per 100,000 persons. The incidences of subtrochanteric fractures insensibly increased, while the incidences of femoral neck and intertrochanteric fractures exponentially increased with aging. Conclusions The demographic characteristic patterns of the patients with subtrochanteric fractures were not similar to those of patients with femoral neck and intertrochanteric fractures, which are typically categorized as osteoporosis-related fractures.