i
Unintentional fall deaths among adults aged 65 and over : United States, 2020
-
11/30/2022
-
Series: NCHS Data Briefs
[PDF-588.26 KB]
Details:
-
Personal Author:
-
Description:Unintentional fall injuries occur most frequently among people in older age groups, with over 2 million fall events treated in emergency departments each year among adults aged 65 and over (1,2). A variety of factors contribute to the risk of falling, including difficulties in seeing, walking, and balance; disabilities; medication effects; and environmental walking obstacles, among other factors (3–6). Deaths due to unintentional falls are a leading cause of unintentional injury deaths among adults aged 65 and over (7). Reducing unintentional fall-related deaths among older adults is a key objective for Healthy People 2030 (8). This report presents unintentional fall death rates for adults aged 65 and over, by demographic characteristics.
Key findings
Data from the National Vital Statistics System
● In 2020, the unintentional fall death rate for adults aged 65 and over was higher for men (70.3 per 100,000 population) compared with women (61.8).
● Non-Hispanic White adults had the highest rates of unintentional fall deaths in 2020 compared with other race and Hispanic-origin groups.
● In 2020, the U.S. rate of unintentional fall deaths for adults aged 65 and over was 65.6, with rates varying by state.
● For both men and women, rates of unintentional fall deaths increased between 2000 and 2020 for adults aged 65–74, 75–84, and 85 and over
Suggested citation: Garnett MF, Weeks JD, Spencer MR. Unintentional fall deaths among adults aged 65 and over: United States, 2020. NCHS Data Brief, no 449. Hyattsville, MD: National Center for Health Statistics. 2022. DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.15620/ cdc:121836.
CS334996
-
Series:
-
Document Type:
-
Name as Subject:
-
Genre:
-
Place as Subject:
-
CIO:
-
Collection(s):
-
Main Document Checksum:
-
Download URL:
-
File Type:
