Hip fracture in elderly patients resulted in increased incidence of death, debility, and destitution discovered a team of University of Alabama at Birmingham School of Public Health researchers led by Dr. Meredith Kilgore, professor and chair of the department of health care organization and policy. Examining a random five percent sample of Medicare beneficiaries using data from 2005 through 2010, Dr. Kilgore and his colleagues conducted a cohort study comparing outcomes for patients who experienced hip fracture with subjects who did not but had similar propensity for suffering hip fracture. Hip fractures were associated with more than a twofold increase in likelihood of mortality, a fourfold increase in likelihood of requiring long-term care, and a twofold increase in the probability of low-income status within one year of injury. Findings indicate that initiatives leading to improved treatment of osteoporosis could result in a decrease in incidence of fractures and consequent death, debility, and destitution for older adults.