Incidence of Colles' fracture in Uppsala

In a prospective study in Uppsala County (Sweden), certain characteristics of distal forearm fractures (DFFs) were investigated during a 1-year period in a mixed rural-urban population comprising all 214,000 persons above the age of 15 years. During the study period, 625 DFFs occurred, with a female/male ratio of 3.2:1. There was an age-related increase in DFFs among females that started as early as 40 years of age. In the males the incidence of DFFs was constant up to 70 years of age, and thereafter there was only a slight increase. The annual incidence of DFFs for women above aged 70 years was 115/10,000 and that for men 29/10,000.