Health-related quality of life after surgery for hip fracture: a multicentric study in Mexican population.

Introduction: Hip fractures are an important cause of morbidity and mortality and one of the main causes of disability in the older population. The lifetime risk for any type of osteoporotic fracture is very high and falls within the range of 40–-50% in women and 13–-22% for men. In Mexico, the lifetime likelihood of having a hip fracture at 50 years of age is 8.5% in Mexican women and 3.8% in Mexican men, but this is expected to rise in upcoming years.

Aim: This study aims to report the Health-Related Quality of Life over the first six months after a hip fracture in two public and two private tertiary care hospitals in Mexico City.

Method: Changes over time were evaluated through visual observation of each patient’s development trajectory using the graphic representation of the EQ-5D global score. The trajectories were grouped by affinity into five levels of progress according to clinical course. The identified descriptive options were analyzed using the multinomial logistic regression model (LR).

Results: One-hundred-and-thirty-six (136) patients with a hip fracture were followed after surgery. Their mean age was 77 ± 10 years. During the first month, mobility, daily activities, and self-care were the most affected. The group aged between 80 and 84 years reported extreme problems regarding anxiety and depression (21%), and those aged between 50 and 74 years described having issues concerning pain and discomfort (27%). At the 6-month follow-up, only those aged > 85 years of age showed worsening of their condition, a high proportion of these ranking at level 3 in mobility, self-care, and anxiety/depression. Toward the end of the follow-up period, this last group reported having extreme problems (being unable to carry out everyday activities) and worsening of their mobility (9.2%) (inability to walk about) (LR test, p = 0.06).

Discussion: Patients with hip fracture showed difficulties in different areas during the first month after surgery, with steady recuperation up to month six. Age was an important factor in the recovery of all evaluated domains. This graphical tool facilitates classification, identification, and monitoring Health-Related Quality of Life in patients with hip fractures.