Seasonality of hip fracture and vitamin D deficiency persists in a sub-tropical climate

Intern Med J. 2019 Aug;49(8):1029-1032. doi: 10.1111/imj.14391.

Abstract

Both hip fractures and vitamin D (25-hydroxyvitamin D (25-OHD)) deficiency are more common in winter in regions with temperate climates, but few data exist for a sub-tropical climate. In a South East Queensland tertiary hospital over a 7-year period, there were significantly more hip fractures in winter than the other three seasons (analysis of variance P = 0.003), with associated higher frequency of 25-OHD deficiency - 42.5% in winter compared to 28.5% in summer, odds ratio 1.86 (95% confidence interval 1.35-2.56), P = 0.0001. Seasonality of hip fracture and 25-OHD deficiency occurs even in a sub-tropical climate.

Keywords: hip fracture; season; vitamin D.

MeSH terms

  • Adult
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Cross-Sectional Studies
  • Female
  • Hip Fractures / blood
  • Hip Fractures / epidemiology*
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Queensland / epidemiology
  • Risk Factors
  • Seasons*
  • Tertiary Care Centers
  • Tropical Climate*
  • Vitamin D / analogs & derivatives
  • Vitamin D / blood
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / blood
  • Vitamin D Deficiency / epidemiology*
  • Young Adult

Substances

  • Vitamin D
  • 25-hydroxyvitamin D