A recent study from the federal Agency for Health Quality and Research (AHRQ) finds that the hospitalization rate for patients admitted with osteoporatic-linked fractures increased by 55 percent between 1996 and 2005. Of the more than 1 million hospitalizations in 2006 that had a diagnosis of osteoporosis, more than one-quarter also involved a fracture. The study also included the following findings:
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Osteoporotic fractures cost hospitals $2.4 billion in 2006.
- Women were 6 times more likely to be hospitalized with an osteoporotic fracture than men.
- Two thirds of patients with an osteoporotic fracture were admitted through the emergency room.
- More than half of the patients were more likely to be released to a nursing home or rehabilitation center, compared to just 16 percent of patients requiring hospitalization for any reason.
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