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Senior Fall Prevention

Statistics of Unintentional Falls
Among Seniors

Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion (CDPHP) staff reviewed the latest national data from the CDC concerning deaths and injuries to people 65 years and older.

CDC reports the death rate from falls among older adults has increased by 42 percent from 2000 to 2006. Each year, one in three Americans aged 65 and over falls. In 2010, over 2.3 million nonfatal fall injuries among older adults were treated in emergency departments with more than 650,000 of these hospitalized.

Fall Prevention

Falls are the most common cause of traumatic brain injuries and account for 50 percent of deaths and 8 percent of hospitalizations of older adults. Most fractures among older adults are caused by falls.

One of the greatest financial challenges facing our nation is the rising cost of health care services required by older Americans. Reducing falls among older Americans will significantly decrease these health costs.

Facts About Falls

• Widespread: Falls are the leading cause of both fatal and nonfatal injuries for those 65 and over; as baby boomers join the ranks of the 65+ club, injuries and deaths will escalate. The chances of falling and of being seriously injured in a fall increase with age. In 2009, the rate of fall injuries for adults 85 and older was almost four times that for adults 65 to 74.
  
  
• Very Expensive: $28.2 billion is spent annually on treating older adults for the effects of falls. Fractures are both the most common and most costly type of nonfatal injuries. If we cannot stem the rate of falls, it is projected that the direct treatment costs will reach $54.9 billion annually in 2020, at which time the cost to Medicare would be $32.4 billion.
  
  
• Just over one third of nonfatal injuries are fractures, but they make up 61 percent of costs—or $12 billion.
  
  
• In a study of people age 72 and older, the average health care cost of a fall injury totaled $19,440.
  
  
• The average cost of a fall related hip fracture injury in 2006 was $37,000.
  
  
  • The national 2005 death rate (per 100,000 people) from unintentional falls for people 65 and older was 42.96. Available data for Nevada from 2005 shows the unintentional fall death rate (per 100,000) was 37.90.
    
    
  • Nevada state statistics from the Center for Health Data and Research showed 132 deaths in 2004 as a result of unintentional falls. Of the 132 deaths, 70 percent occurred in Clark County; 64 percent of those deaths were people 65 and older.
    
    
  • Hospital discharge data collected by the Center for Health Data and Research for 2003 through 2005 showed that 10,035 people were admitted to Nevada hospitals as a result of an unintentional fall. This was 45 percent of all hospital admissions for accidental injuries during that three year period.