The aim of this study was to describe the consequences of hip fracture with respect to changes in residential needs and the ability to perform activities of daily life. Patients 50 years and older admitted to the two largest hospitals of Oslo with a hip fracture during the period May 1996 through April 1997 were identified. In November 1997 a questionnaire on residential needs, activities of daily life, hip pain and health status was sent to the patients still alive (n = 767). After reminders, the questionnaires of 593 patients (77%) were included. Logistic regression analysis was applied to assess items associated with functional limitation and need for residential care. The proportion of patients living in nursing homes increased from 15% before to 30% after the hip fracture, and men were twice as likely to move into a nursing home than women. Of the patients living in their own homes before the hip fracture, 6% of those < 75 years compared with 33% of those > 85 years had to move to nursing home after hip fracture. The proportion of patients walking without any aid decreased from 76 to 36%, and 43% of the patients lost their prefracture ability to move outside on their own. More than a fourth of the patients (28%) lost their ability to cook their own dinner after sustaining hip fracture. The probability of these events increased with increasing age. The probability of reporting inferior health status and for having hip pain that affected sleep after the fracture was unrelated to age. Many patients sustaining a hip fracture, and in particular the oldest patients, have reduced ability to perform activities of daily life.

Background During the 2009 influenza pandemic, pregnant women were at particular risk of serious influenza illness. This concern was further complicated by questions about vaccine safety in pregnant women raised by anecdotal reports of fetal deaths following vaccination. Methods We explored the safety of influenza vaccination of pregnant women by linking Norwegian national registries and medical consultation data to determine influenza diagnosis, vaccination status, birth outcomes, and background information for pregnant women before, during, and after the pandemic. We used Cox regression models to estimate hazard ratios of fetal death, with gestational day as the time metric and vaccination and pandemic exposure as time-dependent exposure variables. Results There were 117,347 eligible pregnancies in Norway in 2009–2010. Fetal mortality was 4.9/1000. 54% of pregnant women in their second or third trimester during the pandemic were vaccinated. Vaccination in pregnancy substantially reduced the risk of influenza diagnosis (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.30; 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.25 to 0.34). A clinical diagnosis of influenza in the mother increased the risk of fetal death (adjusted hazard ratio, 1.91; 95% CI, 1.07 to 3.41). Among pregnant women, the risk of fetal death was lower with vaccination, although this reduction was not statistically significant (adjusted hazard ratio, 0.88; 95% CI, 0.66 to 1.17). Conclusions Pandemic influenza in pregnancy was associated with increased risk of fetal death. Vaccination during pregnancy reduced the risk of influenza diagnosis. Vaccination itself did not increase fetal mortality, and may have reduced the risk of influenza-related fetal death during the pandemic.

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