US thighbone fracture death rates fell, but gaps persisted
Death rates adjusted for age rose 4.17% annually from 2018 to 2021, interrupting the longer-term decline.
Our read
Populations- Studied:
- Study of 453,918 US residents with femoral fracture-related deaths
- What changed:
- Thighbone fracture death rates fell overall from 1999 to 2024, but demographic and geographic gaps persisted
- The catch:
- Population death rates do not measure an individual's risk of dying after a fracture
Editor of record: Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
US death records covering 1999–2024 identified 453,918 deaths related to thighbone fractures in an observational analysis of a national mortality database. Researchers adjusted death rates to account for differences in population age. The overall rate was 5.1 deaths per 100,000 people.
Rates declined overall. They fell from 2002 to 2011, remained broadly stable through 2018, then rose through 2021. The subsequent slight decline through 2024 was uncertain. Nonmetropolitan counties had 6.5 deaths per 100,000 people, compared with 4.7 in metropolitan counties. Rates were highest in the Midwest and lowest in the Northeast. Women accounted for 63.8% of deaths, although their age-adjusted death rate was similar to men's.
Why it matters
Thighbone fractures carry serious health consequences for older adults. The authors called for better management of osteoporosis, a condition that weakens bones, fall prevention and equitable fracture care, particularly for high-risk and rural populations.
Caveats
These population death rates do not measure a person's chance of dying after a fracture. The analysis did not test whether better fall prevention or fracture care would narrow the gaps.
The paper
Femoral fracture mortality between 1999-2024 in USA
King Fahd Medical City; Addis Ababa University
Journal of the National Medical Association, Oct 22, 2026
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