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Background: Previous studies on medical costs in patients with hip fractures have focused on medical costs incurred for a short period after the injury. However, patients often had comorbidities before their hip fractures that would have affected medical costs even had they not sustained a fracture. Consequently, these studies may have overestimated the costs associated with hip fractures and did not characterize the duration of increased medical costs adequately. Without knowing this crucial information, it is difficult to craft thoughtful health policy to support these patients' needs.Questions/purposes: (1) To compare the direct medical costs for 5 years before fracture and up to 5 years after injury in a group of patients who underwent hip fracture surgery with a matched group of patients who did not experience a hip fracture, (2) to analyze the duration over which the increased direct medical costs associated with a hip fracture continues, and (3) to analyze whether there is a difference in direct medical costs according to age group using a nationwide claims database in South Korea.Methods: The National Health Insurance Service Sample cohort in South Korea consisted of 1 million patients who were selected using a systematic, stratified, random sampling method from 48,222,537 individuals on December 31, 2006. Under a compulsory social insurance system established by the National Health Insurance Act, all patients were followed until 2015. Patients with hip fractures and matched controls were selected from the National Health Insurance Service sample of South Korea. Patients with hip fractures were defined as those who were hospitalized with a diagnosis of femoral neck fracture or intertrochanteric fracture and who underwent surgical treatment. We excluded patients with hip fractures before January 1, 2007 to ensure a minimum 5-year period that was free of hip fractures. Patients with hip fractures were matched with patients of the same age and gender at the date of admission to an acute care hospital for surgery (time zero). If patients with hip fractures died during the follow-up period, we performed matching among patients whose difference from the time of death was within 1 month. This method of risk-set matching was repeated sequentially for the next patient until the last patient with a hip fracture was matched. We then sequentially performed 1:5 random sampling for each risk set. A total of 3583 patients in the hip fracture cohort (patients with hip fractures) and 17,915 patients in the matched cohort (those without hip fractures) were included in this study. The mean age was 76 ± 9 years, and 70% were women in both groups. Based on the Charlson comorbidity index score, medication, and medical history, the patients with hip fractures had more comorbidities. Person-level direct medical costs per quarter were calculated for 5 years before time zero and up to 5 years after time zero. Direct medical costs were defined as the sum of that insurer's payments (that is, the National Health Insurance Service's payments), and that patient's copayments, excluding uncovered payments. We compared direct medical costs between patients with hip fractures and the patients in the matched cohort using a comparative interrupted time series analysis. The difference-in-difference estimate is the ratio of the differences in direct medical costs before and after time zero in the hip fracture cohort to the difference in direct medical costs before and after time zero in the matched cohort; the difference in difference estimates were calculated each year after injury. To identify changes in direct medical cost trends in patients with hip fractures and all subgroups, joinpoint regression was estimated using statistical software.Results: The direct medical costs for the patients with hip fractures were higher than those for patients in the matched cohort at every year during the observation period. The difference in direct medical costs between the groups before time zero has increased every year. The direct medical costs in patients with hip fractures was the highest in the first quarter after time zero. Considering the differential changes in direct medical costs before and after time zero, hip fractures incurred additional direct medical costs of USD 2514 (95% CI 2423 to 2606; p < 0.01) per patient and USD 264 (95% CI 166 to 361; p < 0.01) per patient in the first and second years, respectively. The increase in direct medical costs attributable to hip fracture was observed for 1.5 to 2 years (difference-in-difference estimate at 1 year 3.0 [95% CI 2.8 to 3.2]; p < 0.01) (difference-in-difference estimate at 2 years 1.2 [95% CI 1.1 to 1.3]; p < 0.01; joinpoint 1.5 year). In the subgroups of patients younger than 65, patients between 65 and 85, and patients older than 85 years of age, the increase in direct medical costs attributable to hip fracture continued up to 1 year (difference-in-difference estimate ratio at 1 year 2.7 [95% CI 2.1 to 3.4]; p < 0.01; joinpoint 1 year), 1.5 to 2 years (difference-in-difference estimate ratio at 1 year 2.8 [95% CI 2.6 to 3.1]; p < 0.01; difference-in-difference estimate ratio at 2 years 1.2 [95% CI 1.1 to 1.3]; p < 0.01; joinpoint 1.5 years), and 39 months to 5 years (difference-in-difference estimate ratio at 1 year 5.2 [95% CI 4.4 to 6.2]; p < 0.01; difference-in-difference estimate ratio at 5 years 2.1 [95% CI 1.4 to 3.1]; p < 0.01; joinpoint 39 months) from time zero, respectively.Conclusion: The direct medical costs in patients with hip fractures were higher than those in the matched cohort every year during the 5 years before and after hip fracture. The increase in direct medical costs because of hip fractures was maintained for 1.5 to 2 years and was greater in older patients. Based on this, we suggest that health policies should focus on patients' financial and social needs, with particular emphasis on the first 2 years after hip fracture with stratification based on patients' ages.Level Of Evidence: Level II, economic analysis. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pain and kyphotic deformity after spinal fractures can result in a decrease in a patient's physical function and quality of life. Furthermore, physical illness, such as respiratory compromise, or mental illness, including depression, may be exacerbated by a spinal fracture. Complications caused by spinal fractures and old age are risk factors for suicide, but studies on these patients are rare.Questions/purposes: (1) What is the incidence rate of death by suicide after a spinal fracture in patients older than 65 years? (2) How much does the risk of death by suicide increase in patients older than 65 years who have spine fractures compared with well-matched controls? (3) How does this risk change as a function of increasing time after injury?Methods: Spinal fractures in patients older than 65 years and matched controls were selected from the National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort (NHIS-Senior) of South Korea. The NHIS-Senior consists of 558,147 people selected by 10% simple random sampling method from a total of 5.5 million people 60 and older in 2002; all people were followed through 2015. A total of 31,357 patients with spine fractures and their 62,714 matched controls remained in the study. The mean follow-up time was 4.3 ± 3.0 years (135,229 person-years) in the spine fracture group and 4.6 ± 3.0 years (290,096 person-years) in the matched control group. We matched the groups for demographic factors such as age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, medication history, medical history, preoperative disability, number of hospital admissions, as well as socioeconomic factors such as household income level, residential district, and type of national health insurance using a 1:2 risk set propensity score matching by a nearest-neighbor matching algorithm with a maximum caliber of 0.1 of the hazard components. The incidence rate of suicide and the 95% confidence interval were calculated based on a generalized linear model with a Poisson distribution. The effect size was presented as a hazard ratio (HR) using Cox's proportional hazard model with robust variance estimator that accounts for clustering within matched pairs.Results: The overall risk of death by suicide throughout the surveillance period, expressed as an incidence rate, was 116 per 100,000 person-years in spinal fracture (157 deaths by suicide over 135,229 person-years). Throughout the entire surveillance period, the risk of death by suicide was greater among patients with spinal fractures than it was in the control group (HR 1.8 [95% CI 1.5 to 2.2]; p < 0.01). This difference was greatest in the first 365 days after the fracture (HR 2.5 [95% CI 1.6 to 3.8]; p < 0.01) (45 deaths by suicide, incidence rate: 156 per 100,000 person-years in spinal fracture). The risk of suicide death in patients with spine fracture from 365 days to the last follow-up was also higher than that of matched controls (HR 1.6 [95% CI 1.3 to 2.1]; p < 0.01).Conclusions: Considering the substantially increased risk of death by suicide in patients with spine fractures who are older than 65 years, surgeons should consider offering psychiatric evaluation and management more frequently, particularly in patients with chronic pain, functional disability, and depressive mood. Future studies should investigate the underlying causes of suicide, such as deteriorating socioeconomic support or depression, and whether early initiation of psychological support after injury can reduce the suicide rate.Level Of Evidence: Level III, prognostic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Pain and kyphotic deformity after spinal fractures can result in a decrease in a patient's physical function and quality of life. Furthermore, physical illness, such as respiratory compromise, or mental illness, including depression, may be exacerbated by a spinal fracture. Complications caused by spinal fractures and old age are risk factors for suicide, but studies on these patients are rare.Questions/purposes: (1) What is the incidence rate of death by suicide after a spinal fracture in patients older than 65 years? (2) How much does the risk of death by suicide increase in patients older than 65 years who have spine fractures compared with well-matched controls? (3) How does this risk change as a function of increasing time after injury?Methods: Spinal fractures in patients older than 65 years and matched controls were selected from the National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort (NHIS-Senior) of South Korea. The NHIS-Senior consists of 558,147 people selected by 10% simple random sampling method from a total of 5.5 million people 60 and older in 2002; all people were followed through 2015. A total of 31,357 patients with spine fractures and their 62,714 matched controls remained in the study. The mean follow-up time was 4.3 ± 3.0 years (135,229 person-years) in the spine fracture group and 4.6 ± 3.0 years (290,096 person-years) in the matched control group. We matched the groups for demographic factors such as age, gender, Charlson Comorbidity Index score, medication history, medical history, preoperative disability, number of hospital admissions, as well as socioeconomic factors such as household income level, residential district, and type of national health insurance using a 1:2 risk set propensity score matching by a nearest-neighbor matching algorithm with a maximum caliber of 0.1 of the hazard components. The incidence rate of suicide and the 95% confidence interval were calculated based on a generalized linear model with a Poisson distribution. The effect size was presented as a hazard ratio (HR) using Cox's proportional hazard model with robust variance estimator that accounts for clustering within matched pairs.Results: The overall risk of death by suicide throughout the surveillance period, expressed as an incidence rate, was 116 per 100,000 person-years in spinal fracture (157 deaths by suicide over 135,229 person-years). Throughout the entire surveillance period, the risk of death by suicide was greater among patients with spinal fractures than it was in the control group (HR 1.8 [95% CI 1.5 to 2.2]; p < 0.01). This difference was greatest in the first 365 days after the fracture (HR 2.5 [95% CI 1.6 to 3.8]; p < 0.01) (45 deaths by suicide, incidence rate: 156 per 100,000 person-years in spinal fracture). The risk of suicide death in patients with spine fracture from 365 days to the last follow-up was also higher than that of matched controls (HR 1.6 [95% CI 1.3 to 2.1]; p < 0.01).Conclusions: Considering the substantially increased risk of death by suicide in patients with spine fractures who are older than 65 years, surgeons should consider offering psychiatric evaluation and management more frequently, particularly in patients with chronic pain, functional disability, and depressive mood. Future studies should investigate the underlying causes of suicide, such as deteriorating socioeconomic support or depression, and whether early initiation of psychological support after injury can reduce the suicide rate.Level Of Evidence: Level III, prognostic study. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: The purpose of the present study was to evaluate the incidence rate (IR) of suicide in elderly patients with hip fracture on the basis of a nationwide cohort and to analyze the change in the hazard ratio for suicide after hip fracture over time in comparison with a control group.Methods: Patients with hip fracture and their matched controls were selected from the National Health Insurance Service-Senior cohort (NHIS-Senior) of the Republic of Korea. The NHIS-Senior consists of 558,147 people selected by a 10% simple random-sampling method from a total of 5.5 million subjects ≥60 years of age in 2002. Risk-set matching (1:2) on the propensity score was performed with use of a nearest neighbor matching algorithm with a maximum caliper of 0.1 for the hazard components. The IR of suicide and 95% confidence interval (CI) were calculated on the basis of a generalized linear model with a Poisson distribution. The effect size was presented as a hazard ratio (HR) with use of the Cox proportional-hazard model with a robust variance estimator that accounts for clustering within matched pairs.Results: A total of 11,477 patients with hip fracture and 22,954 matched controls were included. The mean duration of follow-up was 4.59 years, generating 158,139 person-years. During follow-up, a total of 170 suicides were identified. Comparisons at up to 180 days and 365 days showed that patients with hip fracture were at higher risk for suicide than matched controls (p = 0.009 and 0.004, respectively; stratified log-rank test). During the first 180 days of follow-up, 14 suicides were identified in patients with hip fracture during 11,152 person-years (IR, 266.1 per 100,000 person-years; 95% CI, 157.6 to 449.4). Patients with hip fracture were 2.97 times more likely to kill themselves than their matched controls during the same period (HR = 2.97; 95% CI, 1.32 to 6.69).Conclusions: Hip fracture in elderly patients increased suicide risk within a year. A new approach to psychiatric evaluation and management is needed in elderly patients with hip fracture.Level Of Evidence: Therapeutic Level III. See Instructions for Authors for a complete description of levels of evidence. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]