Pre-fracture poor mobility, obesity, and multiple comorbidities are associated with higher total health care costs after hip fracture in older women, a recent study found. Researchers evaluated 738 women aged ≥70 years enrolled in Medicare Fee for Service (FFS) who experienced an incident hip fracture between January 1, 1992, and December 31, 2009. They assessed pre-fracture individual characteristics and estimated costs of hospitalizations, skilled nursing facility and inpatient rehabilitation stays, home health care visits, and outpatient utilization from Medicare FFS claims. They found:

• Median total health care costs for 1 year after hip fracture were $35,536 (inter-quartile range $24,830 to $50,903).
• Multivariable-adjusted total health care costs for 1 year after hip fracture were 14% higher ($5,256) in those with walk speed <0.6 m/s compared to ≥1.0 m/s, 25% higher ($9,601) in those with body mass index ≥30 kg/m² compared to 20 to 24.9 mg/kg², and 21% higher ($7,936) for those with 7 or more compared to no comorbid medical conditions.