Who is affected by a hip fracture?
About 90 percent of hip fractures happen to people over age 60. The incidence of hip fractures increases with age, doubling for each decade after age 50. Caucasians and Asians are more likely to be affected than others primarily because of a higher rate of osteoporosis. Osteoporosis (loss of bone tissue) is a disease that weakens bones. Women are more prone to osteoporosis than men; therefore, hip fracture is more common among women. They experience about 80 percent of all hip fractures. More than 1.5 million Americans have fractures annually because of osteoporosis. The number of hip fractures in the US is the highest in the world with approximately 300,000 occurrences each year. In 2003, there were about 309,500 hospitalizations for hip fractures. It is estimated that the number could exceed 500,000 by the year 2040. Why is a hip fracture so serious? People who sustain a hip fracture are more likely to die than a person of the same age who does not experience this injury. About 20 pe
