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APHA Scientific Session and Event Listing

Gwendolyn Bergen, PhD, MPH, MS and Lois Fingerhut, MA. Office of Analysis and Epidemiology, National Center for Health Statistics, 3311 Toledo Road, Hyattsville, MD 20782, 301-458-4448, gjb8@cdc.gov

Introduction: In determining the burden of injury in the United States, morbidity should be examined alongside mortality. However, determining the magnitude of injury morbidity in the United States is challenging due to definitional problems, population enumeration, and classification. The objectives of this study are to determine the extent of morbidity from hip fracture in people over 65 using national surveys, and to understand the reasons for the differing estimates of hip fracture morbidity obtained from these surveys.

Method: Estimates for hip fractures in people over age 65 for 2003-2004 were obtained from the National Hospital Discharge Survey (NHDS), the Healthcare Utilization Project National Inpatient Sample (HCUP-NIS), the National Hospital Ambulatory Care Survey of Emergency Departments (NHAMCS), the National Ambulatory Care Survey of Physician Offices (NAMCS), and the National Health Interview Survey (NHIS).

Results: In 2003, hip fractures in the elderly accounted for 4,461 deaths, 275,039 hospital discharges, 209,601 emergency department visits, 620,125 physician office visits and 94,248 episodes of injury. NHDS reported 182,724 hip fracture hospital discharges in seniors referred from the Emergency Department while NHAMCS reported 182,229 visits referred to the hospital.

Discussion: For hip fractures, mortality represents a small portion of the burden of injury, with morbidity playing a larger role. Due to the differences between surveys in measures, populations, data capture and multiple records for the same injury, it is difficult to obtain a complete picture of injury morbidity. Despite limitations, the surveys described here are a useful tool for describing injury morbidity.

Learning Objectives:

• 1. List five sources of national injury morbidity data in the United States.
• 2. Articulate the difficulties and data concerns in measuring injury morbidity using national surveys.
• 3. Describe the epidemiology of hip fractures in people aged 65 and over.

Keywords: Hip Fractures, Data/Surveillance

Presenting author's disclosure statement:

Not Answered