Proximal Femoral Dimension in Elderly Chinese Women with Hip Fractures in Taiwan

To investigate the relationship between proximal femoral geometry and the occurrence of hip fracture, we compared the geometry of contralateral normal hips of 120 elderly Chinese women with hip fractures, including 63 femoral neck fractures (group A) and 57 intertrochanteric fractures (group B) due to minor trauma, with that of 72 normal elderly Chinese women (group C). The mean ages for group A, B and C subjects were 77.3, 79.7 and 72.9 years, respectively. The femoral neck length (NL), neck width (NW), diameter of femoral head, femoral shaft width just below the lesser trochanter, and neck–shaft angle (θ) were measured on the anteroposterior plain pelvic radiographs. The mean ± SD of NL for group A was 50.4 ± 3.3 mm; for group B, 50.6 ± 3.1 mm; and for group C, 48.8 ± 3.6 mm. Statistical analysis by ANOCOVA and regression showed that only NL of women with hip fractures was significantly longer than controls after correction for age, body height and weight (p <0.01). However, the difference in NL between group A and group B was not significant. By linear regression, the probability of fracture increased only with older age (p <0.001), longer NL (p <0.005) and lighter body weight (p <0.05). By logistic regression, each standard deviation increase in NL increased the risk of hip fracture (age-adjusted odds ratio 1.84; 95% CI, 1.11–3.06). The results confirm the relationship between proximal femoral geometry and the occurrence of hip fracture in elderly Chinese women in Taiwan. Received: 7 August 1998 / Accepted: 6 January 1999