Socioeconomic factors and lifestyles influencing the incidence of calcaneal fractures, a national population-based survey in China

BACKGROUND: We aimed to do a national survey on the population-based incidence of calcaneal fracture in China. METHODS: All the data on calcaneal fractures were available from the China National Fracture Survey (CNFS) between January and May in 2015. And in the CNFS, all eligible household members were sampled from 8 provinces, 24 urban cities and 24 rural counties in China, using stratified random sampling and the probability proportional to size method. Questionnaires were sent to every participant for data collection and quality control was accomplished by our research team members. RESULTS: A total of 512187 valid questionnaires were collected and relevant data were abstracted and analyzed. There were 59 patients with 62 calcaneal fractures occurring in 2014, indicating that the incidence was 11.5/100,000 person-years, 17.3/100,000 in males, and 5.5/100,000 in females. BMI ≥ 28.0 kg/m(2), scarce meat consumption, smoking, alcohol consumption, average sleep time < 7 h/day, and previous history of fracture were identified as independent risk factors for calcaneal fracture. CONCLUSIONS: Specific public health policies focusing on quitting smoking, decreasing alcohol consumption, and encouraging individuals to obtain sufficient sleep should be implemented. Reasonable meat consumption and maintaining a normal body weight should be emphasized in individuals, especially in those with previous fracture.