Published in:
01-06-2016 | Hip Arthroplasty
Are people following hip and knee arthroplasty at greater risk of experiencing a fall and fracture? Data from the Osteoarthritis Initiative
Published in: Archives of Orthopaedic and Trauma Surgery | Issue 6/2016
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Introduction
Falls are a major challenge for older people and are a significant source of mortality and morbidity. There has been uncertainty as to whether people with total hip (THA) or knee (TKA) arthroplasty have a greater risk of falls and associated fractures. This analysis was to explore this question with a large community dataset.
Materials and methods
Data from all people enroled onto the US Osteoarthritis Initiative programme who had undergone a THA (n = 104) or TKA (n = 165), within a 12-month period, were compared to those who had not undergone an arthroplasty (n = 4631). Data were collected on: the number of participants who reported a fall within a 12-month period; the frequency of falls in this period; and whether a fracture was sustained during this period. Odd ratios were calculated for the probability of experiencing a fall or fracture between the groups.
Results
There was no statistical difference in falls between people following THA (OR 0.90; 95 % CI 0.58–1.41) or TKA (OR 0.95; 0.67–1.35) compared to a non-arthroplasty cohort. Whilst there was no statistical difference in fracture risk between people following TKA compared to non-arthroplasty individuals (OR 1.25; 95 % CI 0.57–2.70), those who underwent THA had a 65 % lower chance of experiencing a fracture in the initial 12 post-operative months compared to the non-THA cohort (OR 0.35; 95 % CI 0.19–0.65; p < 0.01).
Conclusions
There appears a lower chance of experiencing a fracture for people following THA compared to those who have not.