Factors associated with time to first hip fracture

Objective: To examine the relationship between risk factors associated with first hip fracture ever and its time to first fracture. Methods: Data were from the Longitudinal Study on Aging. Of the 7,527 participants, 334 sustained a first hip fracture between 1984 and 1991. Results: Results from the Cox proportional hazards model indicate the time to first fracture was inversely related to the number of risk factors involved. The risk factors significantly associated with first fracture were increasing age, female, Caucasian race, history of falls, insufficient exercise, infrequent church attendance (a likely proxy for outside the home activities), hospitalization in the year before the study, and low body mass index. Conclusion: As the number of risk factors increases, the estimated time to fracture becomes shorter; thus. the window of opportunity for prevention is smaller. To reduce the incidence of first hip fracture and to prolong the time to first fracture, interventions should focus on modifiable risk factors identified: increasing exercise, increasing outside-the-home activities, and improving or maintaining body mass index.