Disability following hip fracture

Abstract

Risks for hip fractures are greater for women than for men and increase with age. Individuals who sustain hip fractures exhibit higher mortality than age-matched cohorts, and survivors often demonstrate permanent disability and dependency despite successful surgical repair. This review explores de scriptions of the extent of residual disability following hip fracture and details the multiple variables that account for the discrepancy between surgical and functional outcome. Although outcome has been described traditionally in terms of mortality, ability to perform activities of daily living, and ambulatory status, the need to assess functional disability as a measure of recovery is emphasized. The complexities of the recovery process and the current lack of complete descriptions of disability emphasize the need for national research studies. Research is needed to describe the extent of functional disability present following fracture, to develop a meaningful classification scheme, and to decide the effect of intervention on reducing functional disability.