BACKGROUND: The fractures of hip joint considered as a serious problem in public health in the medical and socioeconomic issues, the incidence of the fracture neck femur is significantly increased with the increment of general population life span. AIM: The goal of this study is to highlight and focus on the most important risk factor for the hip fractures in our Babylon society, and to improve our understanding of the medical and social aspects of these predisposing factors. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A case-control study of older adults (above 60 years old). The study was done on tow samples. First, one consisting of 75 cases those having fracture neck femur considered as cases, and second sample as a control group, consisting of 150 people as a healthy control group having no fracture. A pre-tested questionnaire was prepared to collect data from both samples; the questionnaire included demographic data and information about potential risk factors of hip fracture. RESULTS: Most of the people in the study samples in both groups were, married women, housekeepers, illiterate and from urban dwellers. There was highly significant association between case-control groups regarding, Continuous using of medication such as cortisone which was found to be a potential risk factor of hip fracture (Unadjusted OR = 3.636), low income was positively associated risk factor of hip fracture in this study (OR = 2.377), low milk intake, low sun exposure, tobacco smoking were positively associated with this health problem (OR = 1.794), while physical exercise was protective factor (OR = 0.489). CONCLUSION: The highest risk factors associated with increased occurrence of hip fracture were using cortisone, Osteoporosis, tobacco smoking, consuming soft drinks, and less exposure to sunlight.

BackgroundHuman immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is associated with numerous hematological disorders—anemia, pancytopenia, and hemostatic abnormalities being the most common ones. Direct antiglobulin test has frequently been observed in the clinical syndrome of HIV, but autoimmune hemolytic syndrome (AIHA) is rare. Review of other reports of DAT and AIHA in patients with HIV infections suggests that these autoantibodies may be associated with anemia in this population. Many of these patients are also concurrently infected with hepatitis C virus (HCV). We recently reported a significantly higher incidence of autoantibodies to red blood cells in patients with HCV infection as compared to healthy blood donors. We also noted an even higher incidence of autoantibodies to red blood cells in patients concurrently positive for both HCV and HIV. We hypothesized that HCV infection in patients with HIV confers a much higher risk of developing autoantibodies against red blood cells.MethodSixty-eight patients with HCV and HIV were randomly screened for DAT and AIHA in our hospital from June 2001 to June 2004.ResultsThirty-four patients were positive for HIV. Among them 16 were positive for HCV and 18 were negative. Thirty-four patients were positive for HCV only.We noted an incidence of 18.8% of DAT positivity in patients with concurrent HIV and HCV infection. One of these three patients had clinical AIHA, with high LDH, indirect bilirubinemia, and low haptoglobin. Five percent of the patients with HIV in the absence of HCV had positive DAT. There was no clinical AIHA in this group, and 14.7% of patients with HCV infection alone had positive DAT. One of these five patients had clinical AIHA.ConclusionOur study indicates that HIV-positive patients who are concurrently infected with HCV have a higher incidence of autoantibodies against erythrocytes.