In 1999, there were more than 320,000 hospitalizations for hip fractures.

The total cost in medical bills and lost income resulting from hip fractures is more than $12.6 billion a year or an average of $37,000 per hip fracture.

Because of the aging U.S. population, the number of hip fractures is expected to reach about 650,000 by 2050.

More than 90 percent of hospitalizations for hip fractures are persons 65 and older. Women have a 1 in 7 chance of having a hip fracture during their lifetime. Men have a 1 in 17 chance.

The aging Baby Boomer who may be caring for a parent with a broken hip also is in danger because the incidence of hip fractures starts to increase at age 45.

Hip fractures are caused by a variety of factors that weaken bone and, often, are caused by the impact from a fall. The common characteristics of persons who are vulnerable to hip fractures are:

• Age. The rate increases for people 65 and older.
• Gender. Women have two to three times as many hip fractures as men.
• Heredity. A family history of fractures in later life, particularly in Caucasians and Asians. A small-boned, slender body.
• Nutrition. A low calcium dietary intake or reduced ability to absorb calcium.
• Personal habits. Smoking or excessive alcohol use.
• Physical impairments. Physical frailty, arthritis, unsteady balance, and poor eyesight.
• Mental impairments. Senility, dementia, e.g., Alzheimer's disease.
• Weakness or dizziness from side effects of medication.

Women (men) are 8 percent (18 percent) more likely to die within 1 year following a hip fracture than other women (men) their age.

Most hip fracture patients who previously lived independently will require assistance from their family or home care. About half will require canes or walkers for mobility when they return home. 53 percent of hip fracture patients 65 and older are discharged from hospitals to long-term care facilities. All hip fracture patients will require walking aids for several months after injury and nearly half will permanently require canes or walkers to move around their house or outdoors.