(Oudshoorn C, Hartholt KA, Zillikens
MC, Panneman MJ, van der Velde N, Colin EM, Patka P, van der Cammen TJ.
Emergency
department visits due to vertebral fractures in the Netherlands,
1986-2008: Steep increase in the oldest old, strong association with
falls. Injury. 2011 Nov 3.)
Oudshorn et al. of Rotterdam reported that Vertebral fracture related emergency department visits and hospitalizations are increasing rapidly in the older Dutch population. The excerpt includes:
"BACKGROUND:
Vertebral fractures are a common consequence of osteoporosis in older
persons. With the ageing of the population, numbers are expected to
rise.
OBJECTIVE: To determine trends in health care demand due to
vertebral fracture related emergency department (ED) visits and
hospitalizations in the older Dutch population.
DESIGN AND SETTING:
Secular trend analysis of vertebral fracture related ED visits between
1986 and 2008, using the Dutch Injury Surveillance System. All ED
visits with a primary diagnosis of a vertebral fracture in persons aged
?65 years were extracted from this database.
MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE:
Numbers, age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates (per 100,000
population) of ED visits and hospitalization rates due to vertebral
fractures in the older Dutch population were calculated for each year
of the study.
RESULTS: The total number of ED visits due to a
vertebral fracture increased from 913 in 1986 to 2502 in 2008 (174%
increase). The majority of fractures were caused by a low-energetic
fall incident (83%). The overall age-adjusted incidence rate increased
from 51.6 per 100,000 population in 1986 to 103.6 in 2008. Incidence
rates increased with age and were higher in females than in males. The
hospitalization rate remained stable at about 50-55%, in both females
and males.
CONCLUSION: Vertebral fracture related emergency
department visits and hospitalizations are increasing rapidly in the
older Dutch population, especially in the oldest-old. Most vertebral
fractures were associated with falls. These findings indicate that a
pro-active approach in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and
in the prevention of falls in both men and women is warranted."
Link for the abstract: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/22055140
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