QUALITY OF LIFE OF THE OLDER AGE GROUP WITH OSTEOPOROTIC VERTEBRAL FRACTURES

The aim of the study was to assess the quality of life of persons of the older age group with osteoporotic vertebral fractures. Material and methods. For analysis, outpatient charts and patient histories of trauma departments, emergency rooms and clinics for the period from January to December 2023 were studied. For each age group, the fracture rate for every 100,000 people in this group was calculated. The SF-36 questionnaire was used to assess the quality of life (QoL) of patients. Results. During the analyzed period, 61 cases of vertebral fracture with minor injuries were recorded: 43 of them (70,5%) were men and 18 (29,5%) were women (p < 0.001), while the average age of men was 72.8 (65.3; 81.1) years, women - 77.4 (69.4; 82.5) years. It was found that in men, vertebral fractures occurred signi†cantly more often in the age category of 80 years and older, with a frequency of 832.0 cases per 100,000 population per year, in contrast to younger age groups, where this indicator was statistically signi†cantly lower (p < 0.05). The QoL assessment found that the overall level of physical health was signi†cantly lower in the main group compared to the control group, 31.2 ± 20.18 and 51.02 ± 19.35, respectively were observed (p = 0.0001). Conclusions. The vast majority of cases of vertebral fractures were among men and women aged 80 and over. Patients had a statistically signi†cant decrease in quality-of-life parameters for most of the evaluated parameters compared to the group without fractures.