Incidence of Achilles tendon rupture: 25-year regional analysis with a focus on bilateral ruptures

OBJECTIVE: We aimed to fill the research gap regarding the incidence of Achilles tendon rupture (ATR), which is reportedly increasing, as there is a lack of data on the incidence of ATR and no data on bilateral ruptures in our region. METHODS: We determined the incidence of complete ATR among 273,485 people during 1991 to 2015. RESULTS: In the study period, 524 patients (486 [92.75%] men and 38 [7.25%] women, average age 39.03±10.86 [range 20–83] years, = sex ratio 12.8:1) were treated for ATR in our study area. The average incidence was 7.77 per 100,000 person-years, with an increasing trend until 2008 and peak incidence of 11.33 per 100,000 person-years. Most injuries (67.04%) occurred while performing sports activities. In total, 7 (1.34%) patients (six men [1.23%] and one woman [2.63%]) experienced ruptures on both sides, an average of 5.1 years apart; the average age at the second rupture was 57.71±16.69 (range 39–83) years, with a calculated incidence for bilateral ATR of 0.1 per 100,000 person-years. CONCLUSIONS: The incidence of complete ATR in our study region increased gradually between 1991 and 2008, after which it declined. Bilateral ATR during that period was a very rare injury.