Fractures of the Femoral Neck in Australian Aboriginals and Torres Strait Islanders

Abstract

The objective was to study patients of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin who were admitted to Cairns Base Hospital with the diagnosis of femoral neck fracture. An analysis of all 232 admissions with this diagnosis between November 1997 and July 2000 was carried out. Information was gathered from data accumulated on the Clinical Pathways database; other local data was also considered. Patients registered as being of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander origin have a lower incidence of these fractures than might be expected on an overall population basis, but similar rates on age-standardised data. The female age profile is substantially older than the female non-indigenous osteoporotic fracture group. Indigenous females develop osteoporotic type fractures of the femoral neck at a later age than do non-indigenous females. This may reflect a genetic difference in bone mineral density or a healthy lifestyle in earlier days. Further research is suggested.

Risk factors, incidence, consequences and prevention strategies for falls and fall‐injury within older indigenous populations: a systematic review

“…Seven of the 13 studies were from Australia, 29–35 four from the United States, 36–39 one from Central America 40 and one from Canada 41 . Five studies had a specific focus on older age groups, 30,32,34,35,38 six included data from all age groups 29,31,33,37,39,40 and two included data from participants aged 18 years and above 36,41 . The majority of studies analysed data collected from the last decade 29–32,34–37,40 while the remainder used data collected between 1999 and 2004 33,38,39,41 .…”

“…Five studies had a specific focus on older age groups, 30,32,34,35,38 six included data from all age groups 29,31,33,37,39,40 and two included data from participants aged 18 years and above 36,41 . The majority of studies analysed data collected from the last decade 29–32,34–37,40 while the remainder used data collected between 1999 and 2004 33,38,39,41 . Ten studies had a specific focus on indigenous populations, 29–33,35–37,39,41 while three compared data from multiple population groups (including indigenous).…”

“…The majority of studies analysed data collected from the last decade 29–32,34–37,40 while the remainder used data collected between 1999 and 2004 33,38,39,41 . Ten studies had a specific focus on indigenous populations, 29–33,35–37,39,41 while three compared data from multiple population groups (including indigenous). 34,38,40 …”

“…Five of the 13 studies included in the review had a primary focus on fractures, 31–33,36,41 two on head injury, 34,39 two investigated general injury prevalence and outcomes, 29,37 three focused on the relationships between falls and other health issues 30,35,38 and one specifically investigated fall related deaths 40 . All studies were observational, with the majority presenting morbidity data 29–36,38,39,41 and the rest presenting mortality data 37,40 . Six of the 13 studies analysed hospitalisation data 29,31–33,39,41 and four of the studies used questionnaires for data collection 30,35,36,38 …”

Muscle pain as an indicator of vitamin D deficiency in an urban Australian Aboriginal population

“…Vitamin D deficiency was not observed in asymptomatic patients except for one with mild deficiency. Despite being at a lower risk of osteoporosis, 19 Aboriginal people may have an increased risk of muscular symptoms of vitamin D deficiency. We did not assess intercurrent illness, severity of symptoms, skin pigmentation, diet, time spent outdoors and success of treatment, and this limitation may affect the generalisability of our findings.…”