Osteoporosis and Hip Fractures in Ireland: The Numbers, and How to Prevent Them

Hip fractures in Ireland: the latest figures

The clearest window into this comes from the Irish Hip Fracture Database (IHFD), run by the National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA). Its 2024 national report, the twelfth, recorded 4,294 hip fractures, the largest dataset to date, with 95% coverage across all 16 trauma-receiving hospitals.¹ In plain terms, the report puts it this way: every year in Ireland, around 4,000 people experience a hip fracture, usually caused by a simple trip or fall, and these injuries are often a sign of osteoporosis.¹

The typical patient is older and more often a woman. In 2024 the median age was 82, and 67% were women. The large majority, 84%, were admitted from their own home, which tells you where most of these falls happen.¹

What is osteoporosis, and how common is it here?

Osteoporosis is a condition that weakens bone, lowering its density and making it far more likely to break. It is often called a "silent disease", because there are usually no symptoms at all until a bone breaks, frequently the hip, wrist or spine.

Recent Irish research suggests it is more common than the old figures implied. A peer-reviewed study using national bone-density data estimated that between 300,000 and 500,000 people aged 50 and over in Ireland have osteoporosis, with roughly a further million having low bone mass (osteopenia).⁵⁶ The Irish Osteoporosis Society estimates that around 280,000 people remain undiagnosed, and stresses that in Ireland osteoporosis is preventable in the majority of people, so most fractures are preventable too.⁷

Who is most at risk

Women are at notably higher risk, partly because bone loss accelerates after menopause. The Irish Osteoporosis Society puts the lifetime risk this way: 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men aged 50 will break a bone because of osteoporosis.⁷ The International Osteoporosis Foundation, using global data, gives a comparable figure of 1 in 3 women and 1 in 5 men over 50.⁹ The two organisations measure slightly differently, but the message is the same: this is common, and it is not only a women's condition.

Why a fall is usually the trigger

Osteoporosis rarely breaks a bone on its own. A fall is almost always the trigger event. The International Osteoporosis Foundation reports that more than 95% of hip fractures are caused by a fall, usually a sideways fall.⁹ The Irish Hip Fracture Database says the same in everyday language: a hip fracture is usually caused by a simple trip or fall.¹

And falls are common in older age. About one in three people aged over 65 falls each year, and the most recent Irish research found that one in eight people aged over 70 needs medical attention for a fall annually.¹⁰ So the chain is straightforward, and it is where prevention has to focus: weakened bone, plus a fall, equals a fragility fracture. Take away the fall, or catch it before it does lasting harm, and you break the chain.

What actually happens after a hip fracture

A hip fracture is a major, life-changing injury for an older person, not a broken bone that simply mends. The 2024 Irish data show both how far care has come and how serious the injury remains.

The takeaway: most patients now have surgery within 48 hours, but the median hospital stay is 12 days, and only about 1 in 5 goes straight home. The rest need rehabilitation, and for some the fracture marks a permanent move out of their own home.

Behind those bars: in 2024, 77% of patients had surgery within 48 hours and the median acute hospital stay was 12 days.¹ Only 22% were discharged directly home, with most needing rehabilitation first.¹ Around 4% of patients died in hospital.¹ Longer-term follow-up is sobering: individual Irish hospital series and international data point to roughly 20% to 22% of patients dying within a year of a hip fracture.¹⁹ The Irish Osteoporosis Society puts it plainly: of people over 60 who break a hip, around 20% die within six to twelve months and 50% lose their independence.⁸

The cost to families and the health service

The acute hospital cost of hip fractures in Ireland was approximately €53 million in 2024, and hip fracture patients occupied 75,677 acute bed days that year.¹ Looking ahead, the HSE has long projected that the total cost of falls and fractures in Ireland could reach around €2 billion by 2030 as the population ages.¹² The International Osteoporosis Foundation has forecast that Ireland will see one of the largest increases in fragility fractures in Europe, rising by more than half between 2019 and 2034.³

For a family, of course, the real cost is rarely measured in euro. It is measured in whether a parent comes home, and whether they come home to the life they had before. That is what makes prevention worth so much.

Preventing osteoporosis and fractures

Building and protecting bone

Bone health rests on a few well-established foundations: weight-bearing and resistance exercise, adequate calcium and vitamin D, not smoking, moderating alcohol, and treating osteoporosis once it is diagnosed.⁷ Diagnosis matters because the condition is so often silent: a DEXA bone-density scan can identify osteoporosis before the first fracture, and the International Osteoporosis Foundation has highlighted a significant treatment gap, with many people who are eligible for treatment in Ireland not receiving it.³

Preventing falls

Because the fall is the trigger, fall prevention is the other half of fracture prevention. That means a medication review (some medicines increase fall risk), strength and balance exercise, regular eye checks, and making the home safer. Our guides on preventing elderly falls at home and bathroom falls go through this room by room. The Irish Hip Fracture Database report itself points families to a home-safety review to identify and remove fall risks.¹

After a first fracture: secondary prevention

A first fragility fracture is the strongest single predictor of the next one, so what happens afterwards is critical. Irish hospitals now address this directly: in 2024, 90% of hip fracture patients received a bone-health assessment and 87% received a specialist falls assessment.¹ The mechanism is the Fracture Liaison Service model, which is expanding across Irish hospitals and now has its own national database.⁴

Why fast fall detection matters too

Preventing falls is the priority. But not every fall can be prevented, and when one happens to an older person living alone, the danger is twofold: the fracture itself, and the "long lie" before anyone realises. The longer a person lies on the floor after a fall, the worse the outcomes, including a higher chance of hospital admission and of moving into long-term care.¹

That is why catching a fall quickly is part of the same picture as preventing it. Non-wearable fall detection means a fall is noticed in seconds rather than hours, even at night and even in the bathroom, with nothing for your parent to wear or press. For families whose main worry is a parent who is alone and may already have fragile bones, a system like SmartGuardian is a way to make sure that if the worst happens, help is on its way fast. It does not prevent the fall, and it is not a medical device, but it can change what happens in the crucial minutes afterwards. Set against the cost and upheaval of residential care that often follows a bad hip fracture, that early alert is worth a great deal.

Frequently asked questions

How common are hip fractures in Ireland?

Around 4,000 a year. The Irish Hip Fracture Database recorded 4,294 cases in 2024, with a median patient age of 82 and around two-thirds women.¹

What percentage of hip fractures are caused by falls?

More than 95%, usually a sideways fall, according to the International Osteoporosis Foundation. A hip fracture is also often the first clear sign of osteoporosis.⁹

Can osteoporosis be prevented?

Often, yes. Exercise, adequate calcium and vitamin D, not smoking, moderating alcohol, and treatment once diagnosed all help. The Irish Osteoporosis Society states that osteoporosis is preventable in the majority of people.⁷

What is the outlook after a hip fracture?

Most people are operated on quickly and begin rehabilitation, but recovery is often long and only about a fifth go straight home. Around 4% die in hospital, and roughly one in five within a year, which is why prevention matters so much.¹⁸

References

1. National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA). Irish Hip Fracture Database National Report 2024, 2025. noca.ie/audits/irish-hip-fracture-database
2. National Office of Clinical Audit (NOCA). Irish Hip Fracture Database (audit page and 2024 report launch), 2025. noca.ie
3. International Osteoporosis Foundation. SCOPE 2021: Ireland, 2022. osteoporosis.foundation
4. HSE National Clinical Programme for Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery. Irish Fracture Liaison Service Database Annual Report 2024, 2025. hse.ie
5. Carey JJ, et al. Prevalence of Low Bone Mass and Osteoporosis in Ireland: the DXA HIP Project. JBMR Plus, 2023. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC10556270
6. University of Galway. Up to 500,000 people may have osteoporosis in Ireland, according to new research (World Osteoporosis Day), 20 October 2023. imt.ie
7. Irish Osteoporosis Society. About Osteoporosis. irishosteoporosis.ie
8. Irish Osteoporosis Society (Prof. Moira O'Brien). Osteoporosis in Ireland and preventable fractures, Health News Ireland. healthnews.ie
9. International Osteoporosis Foundation. Epidemiology of osteoporosis and fragility fractures. osteoporosis.foundation
10. The Irish Longitudinal Study on Ageing (TILDA), Trinity College Dublin. One in eight older people in Ireland require medical attention for a fall each year, 11 February 2026. tilda.tcd.ie
11. Briggs R, et al. Determining the burden of falls amongst community-dwelling older people in Ireland (the DeFINED study). BMJ Open, 2026. pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC12863362
12. HSE / Department of Health and Children. Strategy to Prevent Falls and Fractures in Ireland's Ageing Population, 2008 (source of the €2 billion by 2030 projection). hse.ie/eng/services/publications/olderpeople

This guide is provided by SmartCare Living for general information and was accurate to the best of our research on 18 June 2026. It is not medical advice. If you are concerned about osteoporosis or your bone health, speak to your GP, who can arrange a DEXA scan and assessment. SmartGuardian is a home monitoring aid and is not a registered medical device.