Orthopedics Hip & Knee Hip Injuries Hip Fracture Dangers and Mortality Rates Elevated Risks for Years After a Hip Fracture By Sharon Basaraba Sharon Basaraba Twitter Sharon Basaraba is an award-winning reporter and senior scientific communications advisor for Alberta Health Services in Alberta, Canada. Learn about our editorial process Updated on March 17, 2022 Medically reviewed Verywell Health articles are reviewed by board-certified physicians and healthcare professionals. These medical reviewers confirm the content is thorough and accurate, reflecting the latest evidence-based research. Content is reviewed before publication and upon substantial updates. Learn more. by Mohamad Hassan, PT, DPT Medically reviewed by Mohamad Hassan, PT, DPT LinkedIn Mohamad Hassan, PT, DPT, diagnoses neuromuscular and orthopedic conditions, including sprains, strains, and post-operation fractures and tears. Learn about our Medical Expert Board Print MedicalRF.com / Getty Images A broken bone may not sound serious, but if you are an older person, a hip fracture can be the start of many severe health problems. How dangerous is a broken hip in an older person, and what is the mortality rate after a hip fracture? A broken hip, also known as a hip fracture, can lead to serious disability, even death. How Dangerous Is a Broken Hip? Falls have the dubious honor of being the top cause of injury and injury-related deaths in people older than 65. A fall can result in a major decline in independence; a person who has a hip fracture may no longer be able to live independently in the community and might have to move to residential care for greater assistance in day to day activities. Mortality Rate Doubles One-year mortality after hip fracture is 21% once the fracture is surgically addressed. If a hip fracture is not addressed with surgery, the one-year mortality is about 70%. This means 4 out of 5 older persons will survive the first year after a hip fracture. This mortality rate has been basically unchanged since the 1980s, while the mortality rates for other conditions have dropped substantially. Several studies have shown that the all-cause mortality rate doubles for elderly patients after a hip fracture. A 2017 study that followed over 122,000 people in the United States and Europe found the all-cause mortality rate was doubled over the course of over 12 years in those who had a hip fracture. The increase in mortality was greatest in the first year after the fracture, almost three times as high as expected for the general geriatric population. It diminished over time but remained at nearly twice what was expected after eight years or more. A 2011 paper published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (Internal Medicine) investigated a total of 5,580 older women over a period of almost 20 years for the Study of Osteoporotic Fractures (SOF). The mortality rate was double among the women who'd had a broken hip in the first year after injury. In other words, during the 12-month period after breaking their hip, those women had twice the risk of death, when compared with women of a similar age without a hip fracture. More than half the deaths occurred within the first three months after a break. Previous studies, such as a meta-analysis published in 2010 in the Annals of Internal Medicine, have shown an even higher rate of short-term mortality after a hip fracture. In this review of studies published between 1957 and 2009 (involving a total of 578,436 women and 154,276 men over the age of 50), researchers from Belgium and the United States found the risk of death in both men and women in the three months after a hip fracture to be between five and eight times higher. While the greater risk of death diminished two years after the fracture, mortality rates remained higher than those for older people who'd never broken a hip, even after 10 years of follow-up. Excess mortality was higher among men than women in this review. Causes of Death After Hip Fracture What do patients die from after a hip fracture? The 2011 study found that when compared with controls of similar ages, a greater number of women died of pneumonia and cognitive disorders. In the analysis, a number of causes of short-term mortality were suggested, including problems that can occur after surgery (such as pulmonary embolism, infection, and heart failure). In addition, health problems that could have led to the fall in the first place —such as dementia, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and cardiovascular disease—are also cited as contributors to the increased mortality. The researchers note that generally speaking, people who break a hip are more functionally impaired before the fracture when compared with those who do not have a fracture. While age is a major risk factor for falls, a person who is healthy and fit may be considered to have a lower chronological age, leaving them less susceptible to falls and fractures. Incidence and Health Costs Hip fractures represent a major health cost in terms of treating the victims. In the United States, about 300,000 people experience a hip fracture each year. In Canada, between 30,000 and 45,000 older people break a hip each year, with the economic burden estimated at more than $650 million. Research continues into how best to prevent falls that cause fractures, including a better design of assistive devices such as walkers, softer flooring materials in nursing homes, and targeted occupational and physical therapy to boost balance and strength. Was this page helpful? Thanks for your feedback! Dealing with joint pain can cause major disruptions to your day. Sign up and learn how to better take care of your body. Click below and just hit send! Sign Up You're in! Thank you, {{form.email}}, for signing up. There was an error. Please try again. What are your concerns? Other Inaccurate Hard to Understand Submit 9 Sources Verywell Health uses only high-quality sources, including peer-reviewed studies, to support the facts within our articles. Read our editorial process to learn more about how we fact-check and keep our content accurate, reliable, and trustworthy. Guzon-Illescas O, Perez Fernandez E, Crespí Villarias N. Mortality after osteoporotic hip fracture: incidence, trends, and associated factors. J Orthop Surg Res. 2019;14, 203. doi:10.1186/s13018-019-1226-6 Burns E, Kakara R. Deaths from falls among persons aged ≥65 years — United States, 2007–2016. MMWR Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. 2018;67(18):509-514. doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm6718a1 Mundi S, Pindiprolu B, Simunovic N, Bhandari M. Similar mortality rates in hip fracture patients over the past 31 years: A systematic review of RCTs. Acta Orthopaedica. 2014;85(1):54-59. doi:10.3109/17453674.2013.878831 Katsoulis M, Benetou V, Karapetyan T. Excess mortality after hip fracture in elderly persons from Europe and the USA: the CHANCES project. Journal of Internal Medicine. 2017;281(3):300-310. doi:10.1111/joim.12586 Leblanc ES. Hip fracture and increased short-term but not long-term mortality in healthy older women. Archives of Internal Medicine. 2011;171(20):1831. doi:10.1001/archinternmed.2011.447 Haentjens P. Meta-analysis: Excess mortality after hip fracture among older women and men. Annals of Internal Medicine. 2010;152(6):380. doi:10.7326/0003-4819-152-6-201003160-00008 Wang V, Carpenter WR. Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP). Encyclopedia of Health Services Research. doi:10.4135/9781412971942.n164 Wiktorowicz ME, Goeree R, Papaioannou A, Adachi JD, Papadimitropoulos E. Economic implications of hip fracture: Health service use, institutional care and cost in Canada. Osteoporosis International. 2001;12(4):271-278. doi:10.1007/s001980170116 Guirguis-Blake JM, Michael YL, Perdue LA, Coppola EL, Beil TL. Interventions to prevent falls in older adults. Jama. 2018;319(16):1705. doi:10.1001/jama.2017.21962 Additional Reading Falls and Fractures. US NIH National Institute on Aging Public Information Sheet.