Elderly women are more than twice as likely to suffer bone fractures than men of the same age, the latest government statistics show.
About 2,400 out of every 100,000 women over 65 were admitted to hospital with bone fractures in 2009, against 1,000 out of every 100,000 men in the same age group.
Hospital Authority and Department of Health figures show that about 30,000 Hongkongers suffered fractures in 2009. Nearly 70 per cent were due to falls and 17 per cent from traffic accidents. Some 14.2 per cent were sports injuries.
The figures were published in the latest issue of the Centre for Health Protection's Non-communicable Disease Watch.
Although older women are more likely to suffer bone fractures than men, the situation is reversed among those in their 20s and 30s. This could be because men are more likely to play sports, doctors said.
But the newsletter noted that the figures might not reflect the full picture, as some fracture patients sought help from Chinese herbalists and did not go to hospital.
