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Researchers set out to explore the connection between hip fracture and depression, as both conditions are a public health issue among older olds. The team wanted to see how having depression before a fracture affects the individuals’ recovery, according to a study published July 20 in the Journal of the American Geriatrics Society.
Data came from 63,618 Medicare fee-for-service beneficiaries who were aged 65 and older. All of the participants were hospitalized for hip fracture surgery between 2010 and 2017. Of them, 14.2% had depression before they fractured their hip(s).
Participants who had depression tended to be younger, white, female at birth, and spent 11 fewer days at home compared to those who didn’t have depression, even after researchers adjusted for factors such as age, sex, race, income level and Medicaid dual eligibility. The association was weaker based on factors including geographical location and facility.
The team looked at the outcome of days at home, or DAH, which refers to days spent alive and at home after hospital discharge. DAH corresponds to the number of days individuals stay at their homes compared to days spent in an inpatient facility or emergency department.
Hip fractures are the culprit behind more than 300,000 hospitalizations per year in the United States, the authors noted, citing a US Centers for DIsease Control and Prevention report.
Authors said their findings show the need for a holistic health approach and secondary prevention of depressive symptoms after hip fracture.
“These results suggest that specific attention to depression management within an overall treatment plan for managing multiple chronic conditions during post-fracture care may be warranted,” the authors wrote.
