• Christian Oudshoorn, Klaas A Hartholt, M Carola Zillikens, Martien J M Panneman, Nathalie van der Velde, Edgar M Colin, Peter Patka, and Tischa J M van der Cammen.
• Department of Internal Medicine, Section of Geriatric Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center, Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
• Injury. 2012 Apr 1;43(4):458-61.

BackgroundVertebral fractures are a common consequence of osteoporosis in older persons. With the ageing of the population, numbers are expected to rise.ObjectiveTo determine trends in health care demand due to vertebral fracture related emergency department (ED) visits and hospitalizations in the older Dutch population.Design And SettingSecular trend analysis of vertebral fracture related ED visits between 1986 and 2008, using the Dutch Injury Surveillance System. All ED visits with a primary diagnosis of a vertebral fracture in persons aged ≥65 years were extracted from this database.Main Outcome MeasureNumbers, age-specific and age-adjusted incidence rates (per 100,000 population) of ED visits and hospitalization rates due to vertebral fractures in the older Dutch population were calculated for each year of the study.ResultsThe total number of ED visits due to a vertebral fracture increased from 913 in 1986 to 2502 in 2008 (174% increase). The majority of fractures were caused by a low-energetic fall incident (83%). The overall age-adjusted incidence rate increased from 51.6 per 100,000 population in 1986 to 103.6 in 2008. Incidence rates increased with age and were higher in females than in males. The hospitalization rate remained stable at about 50-55%, in both females and males.ConclusionVertebral fracture related ED visits and hospitalizations are increasing rapidly in the older Dutch population, especially in the oldest-old. Most vertebral fractures were associated with falls. These findings indicate that a pro-active approach in the diagnosis and treatment of osteoporosis and in the prevention of falls in both men and women is warranted.Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

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