Changing epidemiology of adult fractures in Scotland

Abstract

Background

Fracture epidemiology in adults is changing but there is very little information about the rate of change or whether the change affects males and females equally.

Methods

We have compared fracture incidence in two similar populations 50–60 years apart. A study of fractures in Dundee, Scotland and Oxford, England, in 1954–1958, was compared with a similar cohort of fractures in Edinburgh, Scotland, in 2010–2011. Fracture incidence in patients >35 years was recorded in both time periods.

Results

The incidence of fractures increased by 50% between the two time periods, although the increase in males was only 5% compared with 85% in females. The spectrum of fractures has changed considerably, and there has been an increase in the incidence of both fragility and non-fragility fractures. Analysis showed an increased incidence of fall-related fractures in all age groups in both males and females.

Interpretation

There has been a substantial change in the incidence of fractures in the last 50–60 years. These have been caused by greater longevity and by considerable social and economic changes.