Hip fractures ‘more deadly than cancer’
BETTER BONES
HIP fractures in older people are more deadly than some cancers, research has revealed.
People over 65 who suffer the serious injury are more likely to die within five years than patients who develop breast cancer, the study found.
While bone fractures have often been dismissed as relatively minor injuries, the survey of 100,000 older patients found, on average, 40 to 50 per cent of men will die within five years of a hip fracture – with the risk of death increasing with age.
The research, recently published in the Journal of Bone and Mineral Research, also found 20 to 30 per cent of women over 65 will die within five years of breaking their hip. Death rates were only “marginally” better following a spinal fracture.
Many deaths are caused by complications triggered by the life-changing injury, such as heart failure or pneumonia.
The study, based on health records from Ontario, Canada, showed those over the age of 85 were at the most risk of dying.
The most common time for patients to die was within a month of the injury.
By comparison, nearly nine out of ten women with breast cancer will be expected to live a further five years.
The risk of death following a fracture in over-65s is similar to developing prostate cancer, the analysis revealed.
It was backed up by previous UK research that found 28 per cent of people over 60 suffering a hip fracture will die within a year of their injury. The research has fuelled calls for improved diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis, a condition which weakens bones, increases the risk of breaks and is a leading cause of fractures in older people.
Fractures caused by osteoporosis affect half of women and a fifth of men aged over 50.
The Sunday Express Better Bones campaign has called, in conjunction with the Royal Osteoporosis Society, for £30million a year from the Government to pay for specialist fracture clinics in all NHS trusts.
These clinics – known as Fracture Liaison Services – would end the current “postcode lottery” for treatment faced by sufferers of the condition.
Jill Griffin, ROS head of clinical engagement, said: “Many people think osteoporosis is not serious, but people do not understand the serious and life-changing consequences of fractures, such as those to the spine and hip, which have a debilitating effect on the lives of all who suffer with them.”
She added: “This research shows that for older people the risk of death following a fracture is higher than for some cancers.
“We need to turn the spotlight on older people who are at risk or those who have had previous fractures, to ensure we pick up cases of osteoporosis so we can assess and treat them properly in order to prevent disability and death.”
The charity says the disease “is one of the most urgent threats to people living well in later life”.
Its research shows two thirds of people who need anti-osteoporosis medication are missing out – 90,000 people every year.
Only 57 per cent of the eligible population in England has access to specialist clinics, which reduce the risk of re-fracture by 30 to 40 per cent.
Craig Jones, ROS chief executive, said: “The end result of untreated osteoporosis is a broken hip, the heart-attack level event that ruins people’s lives and, in so many cases, ends them prematurely.
“That’s why we need Health Secretary Victoria Atkins to mandate or fund Fracture Liaison Services to diagnose people with osteoporosis after their very first break. Half of people who suffer a broken hip had a previous minor break which could have flagged them as being at risk.
“Ms Atkins wouldn’t want a person who had their first heart attack to be sent home without medication to prevent the next – the exact same applies here”.
The Department of Health was contacted for comment.
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