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Mortality following proximal humerus fracture—a nationwide register study of 147,692 fracture patients in Sweden

Bakir O. Sumrein, H. Berg, A. Launonen, Peter Landell, M. Laitinen, L. Felländer-Tsai, V. Mattila, T. Huttunen

Osteoporosis International, 2022

126,487 participants · 31 citations

Abstract

Summary Little is known about survival after proximal humerus fracture. In this manuscript, we found the mortality to be high (almost four times higher than in age- and sex-matched controls). While frailty hip fracture has gained attention, we hope our manuscript will shed light on frailty proximal humerus fracture patients. Introduction Proximal humerus fractures (PHF) are common and occur mostly after the 6th decade of life. While mortality following PHF has been reported previously, mortality data after longer follow-up on a national level is lacking. Methods We obtained data from the Swedish Hospital Discharge Register (SHDR), on all adult patients (≥ 18 years) with a diagnosis of PHF (S42.2, S42.20, or S42.21) for the period between 2001 and 2016. We used the Swedish Cause of Death Register (SCDR) to investigate mortality in the fracture cohort. We compared the mortality of fracture patients with age- and sex-matched population-based mortality data obtained from Statistics Sweden. Results A total of 147 692 PHF patients were identified, with a male to female ratio of 1:3. The mean age was 69 years (range, 18 to 111). Most patients were treated non-surgically ( n = 126,487, 86%). The crude mortality rate was 2.2% at 1 month, 4.1% at 3 months, 8.5% at 12 months, and 24% at 48 months after sustaining a PHF. Mortality increased with age; however, the standardized mortality rate (SMR) was highest among young patients. SMR was 5.4 in the 18- to 39-year age group, 3.9 in the…

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Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 126,487 participants or records.

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