Trends in Nonfatal Falls and Fall-Related Injuries Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years - United States, 2012-2018
Briana Moreland et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2020.
Free PMC article
Abstract
Falls are the leading cause of injury among adults aged ≥65 years (older adults) in the United States. In 2018, an estimated 3 million emergency department visits, more than 950,000 hospitalizations or transfers to another facility (e.g., trauma center), and approximately 32,000 deaths resulted from fall-related injuries among older adults.* Deaths from falls are increasing, with the largest increases occurring among persons aged ≥85 years (1). To describe the percentages and rates of nonfatal falls by age group and demographic characteristics and trends in falls and fall-related injuries over time, data were analyzed from the 2018 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and were compared with data from 2012, 2014, and 2016. In 2018, 27.5% of older adults reported falling at least once in the past year, and 10.2% reported an injury from a fall in the past year. The percentages of older adults reporting a fall increased between 2012 and 2016 and decreased slightly between 2016 and 2018. Falls are preventable, and health care providers can help their older patients reduce their risk for falls. Screening older patients for fall risk, assessing modifiable risk factors (e.g., use of psychoactive medications or poor gait and balance), and recommending interventions to reduce this risk (e.g., medication management or referral to physical therapy) can prevent older adult falls (//www.cdc.gov/steadi).
Conflict of interest statement
All authors have completed and submitted the International Committee of Medical Journal Editors form for disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. No potential conflicts of interest were disclosed.
Figures
Percentages and rates of self-reported falls and fall-related injuries among adults aged ≥65 years, by age group — Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, United States, 2012–2018 * Data from Michigan, Oregon, and Wisconsin were omitted because of the difference in the way these states collected information about falls during 2012, compared with the rest of the states.
Similar articles
Traumatic Brain Injury-Related Emergency Department Visits, Hospitalizations, and Deaths - United States, 2007 and 2013.
Taylor CA, Bell JM, Breiding MJ, Xu L. Taylor CA, et al. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2017 Mar 17;66(9):1-16. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.ss6609a1. MMWR Surveill Summ. 2017. PMID: 28301451 Free PMC article.
Falls and Fall Injuries Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years - United States, 2014.
Bergen G, Stevens MR, Burns ER. Bergen G, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016 Sep 23;65(37):993-998. doi: 10.15585/mmwr.mm6537a2. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2016. PMID: 27656914
Falls and fall injuries among adults with arthritis--United States, 2012.
Barbour KE, Stevens JA, Helmick CG, Luo YH, Murphy LB, Hootman JM, Theis K, Anderson LA, Baker NA, Sugerman DE; Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Barbour KE, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014 May 2;63(17):379-83. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2014. PMID: 24785984 Free PMC article.
Interventions to Prevent Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults: A Systematic Review for the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force [Internet].
Guirguis-Blake JM, Michael YL, Perdue LA, Coppola EL, Beil TL, Thompson JH. Guirguis-Blake JM, et al. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2018 Apr. Report No.: 17-05232-EF-1. Rockville (MD): Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (US); 2018 Apr. Report No.: 17-05232-EF-1. PMID: 30234932 Free Books & Documents. Review.
Reducing Fall Risks Among Visually Impaired Older Adults.
Nguyen T, Combs EM, Wright PJ, Corbett CF. Nguyen T, et al. Home Healthc Now. 2021 Jul-Aug 01;39(4):186-193. doi: 10.1097/NHH.0000000000000995. Home Healthc Now. 2021. PMID: 34190702 Review.
Cited by
The Chinese Short Version of the Activities-Specific Balance Confidence Scale: Its Validity, Reliability, and Predictive Value for Future Falls in Community-Dwelling Older Adults.
Zhang D, Tian F, Gao W, Huang Y, Huang H, Tan L. Zhang D, et al. Clin Interv Aging. 2022 Oct 3;17:1483-1491. doi: 10.2147/CIA.S380921. eCollection 2022. Clin Interv Aging. 2022. PMID: 36212511 Free PMC article.
Extended effects of a wearable sensory prosthesis on gait, balance function and falls after 26 weeks of use in persons with peripheral neuropathy and high fall risk-The walk2Wellness trial.
Oddsson LIE, Bisson T, Cohen HS, Iloputaife I, Jacobs L, Kung D, Lipsitz LA, Manor B, McCracken P, Rumsey Y, Wrisley DM, Koehler-McNicholas SR. Oddsson LIE, et al. Front Aging Neurosci. 2022 Sep 20;14:931048. doi: 10.3389/fnagi.2022.931048. eCollection 2022. Front Aging Neurosci. 2022. PMID: 36204554 Free PMC article.
Correlation between Physical Performance and Stabilometric Parameters in Older Adults.
Labata-Lezaun N, González-Rueda V, Rodríguez-Sanz J, López-de-Celis C, Llurda-Almuzara L, Rodríguez-Rubio PR, Pérez-Bellmunt A. Labata-Lezaun N, et al. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022 Sep 2;58(9):1211. doi: 10.3390/medicina58091211. Medicina (Kaunas). 2022. PMID: 36143889 Free PMC article.
Bone Fracture Patterns and Distributions according to Trauma Energy.
Almigdad A, Mustafa A, Alazaydeh S, Alshawish M, Bani Mustafa M, Alfukaha H. Almigdad A, et al. Adv Orthop. 2022 Sep 9;2022:8695916. doi: 10.1155/2022/8695916. eCollection 2022. Adv Orthop. 2022. PMID: 36118169 Free PMC article.
Differences in fall-related emergency departments visits with and without an Injury, 2018.
Moreland BL, Burns ER, Haddad YK. Moreland BL, et al. J Safety Res. 2022 Sep;82:367-370. doi: 10.1016/j.jsr.2022.07.002. Epub 2022 Jul 18. J Safety Res. 2022. PMID: 36031264
References
- Burns E, Kakara R. Deaths from falls among persons aged ≥65 years—United States, 2007–2016. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep 2018;67:509–14. 10.15585/mmwr.mm6718a1 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
- Ingram DD, Malec DJ, Makuc DM, et al. National Center for Health Statistics guidelines for analysis of trends. Vital Health Stat 2 2018;179:1–71. - PubMed
- Florence CS, Bergen G, Atherly A, Burns E, Stevens J, Drake C. Medical costs of fatal and nonfatal falls in older adults. J Am Geriatr Soc 2018;66:693–8. 10.1111/jgs.15304 - DOI - PMC - PubMed
- Ambrose AF, Paul G, Hausdorff JM. Risk factors for falls among older adults: a review of the literature. Maturitas 2013;75:51–61. 10.1016/j.maturitas.2013.02.009 - DOI - PubMed
- Ganz DA, Higashi T, Rubenstein LZ. Monitoring falls in cohort studies of community-dwelling older people: effect of the recall interval. J Am Geriatr Soc 2005;53:2190–4. 10.1111/j.1532-5415.2005.00509.x - DOI - PubMed
MeSH terms
LinkOut - more resources
Full Text Sources
- CDC - Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
- Europe PubMed Central
- PubMed Central
Medical
- ClinicalTrials.gov
- MedlinePlus Health Information
Miscellaneous
- NCI CPTAC Assay Portal