Impact of Comorbidities on Healthcare and Long‐Term Care Costs After Hip Fracture: Analyses of Healthcare and Long‐Term Care Insurance Data in Sendai City, Japan

Introduction This pilot study aimed to examine the impact of comorbidities on healthcare and long‐term care costs following hip fracture. Methods This retrospective cohort study utilized electronic medical receipt data from the National Health Insurance and the medical care system for older individuals (aged ≥ 75 years) in Sendai City, collected between April 2019 and March 2023. The study included female patients aged ≥ 65 years who were newly registered as hip fracture patients ( n = 1346). The total healthcare and long‐term care costs incurred from 12 to 7 months before and 7 to 12 months after fracture were analyzed in groups stratified by comorbidities: dementia, cerebral vascular disease (CVD), and osteoarthrosis (OA). Results The total healthcare costs remained largely unchanged between the pre‐ and post‐fracture periods across all groups, except in the no‐comorbidity and dementia + CVD + OA groups. In the no‐comorbidity group, costs significantly increased ( p < 0.05), whereas in the dementia + CVD + OA group, they significantly decreased ( p < 0.05). In contrast, long‐term care costs significantly increased in all groups. Significant differences in long‐term care costs were observed among groups ( p < 0.05). Additionally, the presence of dementia was associated with significantly higher long‐term care costs 7–12 months after hip fracture ( p < 0.001). Conclusions This pilot study involving a small patient group indicated the number and type of comorbidities had a minor effect on healthcare costs. However, the presence of dementia significantly increased long‐term care costs following hip fracture.