text: Introduction
  Hip fractures in the aged constitute a major health problem with substantial morbidity [1], mortality [2, 3], and, as the ageing population increases, an increasing burden on the health care system [4]. Fracture risk varies markedly between countries [5]. In a study by Kanis et al. [6], comparing 10-year probability of hip fracture, all countries except Norway had lower risk than Sweden. Other countries categorized at very high risk (>75% of the risk of Sweden) were Iceland, Denmark and the US. At the age of 80, the estimated probability of sustaining a hip fracture the next 10 years is 8.6% and 17.7% in Norwegian men and women, respectively [7], and a report from the Norwegian capital Oslo calculated an overall annual fracture rate of 118.0 in women and 44.0 in men per 10,000 [8].
  Several recent studies are reporting declining fracture incidence [9-14]. Although the Norwegian hip fracture rates remain the highest reported in the world, data from Oslo in 1996-1997 indicated no increasing incidence rates compared to the 1988-1989 [8].Within Norway, considerable geographic differences have been reported, with substantially lower rates in smaller cities and rural areas compared to Oslo [7, 15]. However, these are reports based on sporadic studies in few regions and in limited time periods [16, 17].
  From 1985 to 2003, the Norwegian Institute of Public Health commissioned four Norwegian hospitals, representing 10% of the population, to run a national injury registry [18]. The registry collected a variety of data connected to the actual injury itself and the event leading to the injury. In the city of Harstad in Northern Norway, the registration continued and has been running for more than 23 years. Throughout the years of the National Injury Registry, the injury rates in Harstad closely resembled the rates of the national registry [18]. With reference to the recent reports suggesting stabilizing hip fracture incidence internationally as well as nationally, and regional differences within Norway, we have used the hip fracture data in the Harstad Injury Registry to: 
  Describe age- and sex-specific incidence of hip fractures in Harstad, Northern Norway and make comparison with rates from the Norwegian capital Oslo
  Describe time trends in hip fracture incidence in Harstad from 1994 to 2008
  Describe place of injury and seasonal variations in hip fracture incidence in Harstad
  Compare 3-month, 6-month, and 1-year mortality after hip fracture between women and men in Harstad
  
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entities.text: ['hip']
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