Background/Introduction: Osteoporotic fractures are prevalent worldwide. Regarding hip fractures, some studies suggest a seasonal pattern, namely higher rates in Winter, probably attributed to adverse climacteric conditions. The pandemic forced people to stay at home, theoretically decreasing the susceptibility to those conditions.
Purpose: To evaluate whether there is a seasonal pattern in hip fractures occurrence before the covid19 and whether that pattern remains present in the 1st year post-covid19.
Methods: Retrospective study of patients with hip fractures between January 2019 and March 2021. Patients were divided into two groups according to fracture timing: Pre-pandemic (January-December 2019) and Pandemic (April 2020-March 2021). Fractures between January-March 2020 were excluded. Number of fractures, demographic data, and comorbidities were collected. Descriptive analysis was performed, using medians for continuous data and frequencies and percentages for qualitative variables. Number of fractures per season was compared within each group using non-parametric tests with p-value≤0.05, SPSS® software.
Results: We selected 126 patients (77 patients in the pre-pandemic group and 49 patients in the pandemic group). The median age of patients was 80 years (range 34-96 years). 78,3 % of patients were women. There were no statistically significant differences between groups. Comorbidities as diabetes, smoking, and alcohol abuse weren’t statistically different between groups or seasons. The incidence of fractures in the pre-pandemic group was significantly higher in Winter and Spring (p<0.001). In the pandemic group, we found a higher incidence of fractures in Winter when compared with Spring and Summer (p<0.001).
Conclusion(s): Our findings suggest a seasonality in hip fractures, with higher incidences in more rainy seasons in Portugal (Winter and Spring), before covid19. We did not find the same pattern in the pandemic group. We found a higher incidence of fractures in Winter in this group, possibly justified by the progressive return to routines and adjustment to normality, compared with the first lockdown months.