Air quality and incidence of osteoporotic hip fracture in Chile

Abstract

Objetive: Recent studies show an association between environmental pollution and the risk of suffering an osteoporotic fracture. This study aimed to determine if there is an association between environmental contamination with fine particulate matter (PM2 5) and osteoporotic hip fracture. Material and method: Retrospective incidence study. The Pearson correlation coefficient (r) was used to assess the correlation between the incidence rate of hospital discharges due to osteoporotic hip fracture in Chile and the annual average concentration of PM2 5 in the Chilean Health Services in 2017. Results: In 2017 there were 8,322 hip fractures in adults 65 years of age or older, with a rate per 100,000 inhabitants of 216 and 567 for men and women, respectively. No association was found between environmental contamination and hip fractures in women. Very weak direct association was found between the incidence rate of osteoporotic hip fracture in men and the annual concentration of PM2 5 (r=0.074) by Health Services, being statistically not significant (p>0.05). Conclusions: No statistically significant association was found between environmental pollution and the incidence rate of hospital discharges due to osteoporotic hip fractures in Chile.