health

The prognosis of a fracture depends on its cause and location, the patient’s
age and overall health, and the severity of the fracture. Most fractures will
heal eventually with prompt treatment. The patients at highest risk of
lasting complications from fractures are those with osteoporosis or other
diseases of the bone; those whose fractures involved crushing as well as
breaking of the bone; those with compound fractures that became infected;
those who are heavy smokers; those with poor nutrition; and those over
sixty years of age. Elderly people with hip fractures are 5–20 percent more
likely to die within a year of their injury than others in their age group.