People live longer after hip replacement, study suggests

Hip replacement surgery improves quality of life and is associated with increased life expectancy, reports a large study in Clinical Orthopaedics and Related Research.

A team looked at survival rates of nearly 132,000 people who had total hip arthroplasty (average age 68 years old). They kept track of the patients for an average of 5.6 years, during which time about 16.5% of the patients died.

Survival after hip replacement surgery was 1% higher than people of similar age and gender. The difference increased to 3% after five years and was 2% at 10 years. By 12 years, there was no difference in survival rates.

The survival difference was strongest in those with primary osteoarthritis. In people with certain other diagnoses (including osteonecrosis, inflammatory arthritis, and “secondary” osteoarthritis due to other health conditions or risk factors) survival after hip replacement surgery was lower compared to the general population.

Dr Peter Cnudde, who led the work, comments:

“Our study suggests that hip replacement can add years to life as well as adding ‘life to years’ – increasing the chances of longer survival as well as improving the quality of life.”

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