Four-year survival after hip fractures--an analysis in two Finnish health care regions.

Abstract

We studied the survival of 390 patients with fresh hip fractures sustained in 1989 by a population of about 441 thousand in two health care regions in Finland during four years. The most significant explanatory factors of mortality were place of injury, place after primary treatment and age. The excess mortality of men compared with the reference population at one year was 21% and in women 16%. After this, the excess mortality rates increased slowly in both sexes and were 37% for men and 24% for women at four years. In those who had sustained the fracture in a traffic accident the mortality at four years was slightly lower than that in the reference population, and in those who had sustained the fracture in other accident outdoors there was a 10% excess mortality. Patients who had sustained the injury at home had at four years a 25% and those who had sustained the injury in institutions a 46% excess mortality. The excess mortality at four years was lowest in those who were discharged home (14%) and highest in those who were discharged to other institutions (27%).