Is the incidence of paediatric stress fractures on the rise? Trends in New York State from 2000 to 2015.

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to analyze trends in the epidemiology of paediatric stress fractures. The New York Statewide Planning and Research Cooperative System database was queried for stress fractures in children between the ages of 6 and 18 years. After checking for monotonicity of the data, Spearman's correlation coefficient was calculated. Multivariate regressions were used to test for associations between demographic variables and risk of stress fracture. Analysis of 11 475 386 outpatient visits between 2000 and 2015 showed that the annual incidence of paediatric stress fractures increased from 1.37 cases per 100 000 outpatient visits in 2006 to 5.32 per 100 000 visits in 2015 (ρ = 0.876, P < 0.01). The mean age at the time of injury was 14.4 ± 2.8 years. Children younger than 14 years accounted for 33.6% of the cohort. Age, male sex, white ethnicity, and private insurance were statistically significant predictors of stress fractures in a multivariate model. This study is the first to document an increase in the annual incidence of paediatric stress fractures.