Introduction: Incidence of hip fractures in Croatia is unknown as well as regional variations. The aim of this study is to 1) estimate incidence of hip fractures in Croatia and, 2) analyze differences in the incidence between the coastal and the continental region of Croatia.
Methods: Incident cases of hip fractures among people aged 65 years and more in 2003 were identified from the national hospital claims database. Population denominator data were obtained from the National Census statistics. Incidence rates between the coastal and the continental region were compared using the direct age and sex standardization method.
Results: There were 3,261 incident cases of hip fractures in 2003, or 4.70 cases per 1,000 population (95% CI 4.54-4.87 per 1,000). Age and sex standardized incidence rate is statistically significantly higher (P<0.05) in the continental (5.01 per 1,000 population, 95% CI 4.81-5.21 per 1,000) than in the coastal region (4.04 per 1,000 population, 95% CI 3.78-4.31 per 1,000 population).
Conclusion: Incidence of hip fractures in Croatia is similar to those in other European countries, but lower than in Scandinavia. We observed 20% lower incidence in the coastal region compared to the continental region of Croatia. The sources of this difference need further exploration.