Unchanging Incidence of Hip Fracture in Southeastern Norway

Purpose: The aim of this study was to ascertain trends in the incidence of hip fracture in southeastern Norway by comparing the hip fracture incidence for the years 2008 to 2010 to that of a study from 1998 to 2003 in the same area. Methods: We determined the number of hip fractures for the geographical area of Ostfold county, and the age- and gender-specific incidence per 100 000, with 95% confidence intervals, was calculated. Use of bisphosphonates was determined by extracting data from public databases. Results: The hip fracture incidence for men aged 50 to 74 and older than 75 years was 120 (100-141) and 1305 (1237-1372) in the latest time period, 1998-2003, whereas the incidence for the previous period, 2008-2010, was 124 (103-146) for men aged 50 to 75 and 1333 (1189-1476) for men older than 75 years. For women of 50 to 74 years, the incidence was 184 (158-209), and for women older than 75 years, it was 2523 (2428-2618). In the first time period, the corresponding incidence was 228 (200-257) for women aged 50 to 74 and 2330 (2189-2471) for women older than 75 years. As the 95% confidence intervals overlap in all the comparisons, it indicates the the incidence did not significantly differ between the time periods. Bisphosphonate use did not exceed 2% in any age group for men. For women, the highest rate of bisphosphonate use was 12.6% in the 85- to 89-year groups. Conclusion: We cannot confirm reports of decreasing incidence of hip fractur