Hip fractures in middle-aged men: a consequence of early retirement and alcohol misuse?

From the 1950s to the 1980s the incidence of hip fractures in women aged 50-64 and cervical fractures in men of the same age in Malmö did not increase, whereas the incidence of trochanteric fracture in men aged 50-64 increased significantly. Significant background factors in men were alcohol misuse, living alone, early retirement, previous fractures, low weight/height ratio and less severe trauma--more in men with trochanteric than in men with cervical fracture. The deviant life-style and suspected physical inertia in this group of middle-aged men probably predisposes to osteoporosis and increased fracture risk.