Unintentional Falls Among Older Adults – Louisiana, 2007

Details

• Personal Author:
  Gastañaduy M
• Description:
  Introduction: Unintentional falls are a common occurrence among older adults, affecting approximately 30% of people 65 years and older each year. The injuries received from a fall can result in death, hospital admission, disability, psychological consequences (e.g. fear of falling), and direct medical costs. This study examines the epidemiology of unintentional falls that resulted in hospital admission or death among older adults, aged 65 and older, in Louisiana, 2007. Methods: Unintentional fall related hospitalization and death cases were abstracted from the 2007 Louisiana's Inpatient Hospital Discharged data (LAHIDD), and 2007 death certificate data, respectively. Frequencies, percentages and rates were calculated for demographic characteristics as well as for place of injury, discharged status, length of stay and direct cost. All data analysis was conducted using SAS version 9.1. Results/Discussion: In 2007, unintentional falls were the leading cause of unintentional injury hospitalizations (n=4,661), and deaths (n=114) among older adults, surpassing motor vehicle traffic crashes, poisonings and suffocations. Additionally, hospitalization rates were higher in White females (1,221.1 per 100,000 population), and highest in Office of Public Health (OPH) Regions 9 and 2 (1,314.9 and 1,231.9 per 100,000 population). Deaths rates were slightly higher in White males (27.5 per 100,000 population), and highest in OPH Regions 8 and 9 (40.3 and 40.2 per 100,000 population). The data also showed that most fatal falls occurred in a home or a residential institution (n=77, 67.6%), and that most patients admitted to a hospital due to a fall, were discharged to another institution for further care (n=4,027, 86.9%). Additionally, for those hospitalized, the median length of stay was 5 days, while the median cost was $25,081, totaling approximately $140 million dollars in 2007. Conclusion: Falls are a serious problem facing older adults in Louisiana and the OPH - Injury Research and Prevention Program (IRP), along with the Louisiana Falls Coalition, is working towards implementing prevention programs, such as Matter of Balance and Stepping On that will reduce the risk and fear of falling among older adults. In addition, in future reports, other sources of data (e.g. emergency department and community level data) may be accessed, in order to see the true scope of the problem. [Description provided by NIOSH]
• Subjects:
  Accidental Falls Accidents Age Factors Aging Epidemiology Mortality Occupational Health Safety
• Keywords:
  Age Factors Falls Injuries Mortality Data Mortality Rates Surveillance
• Document Type:
  Text
• Funding:
  Cooperative Agreement
• Genre:
  Newsletter
• Place as Subject:
  Louisiana ; OSHA Region 6
• CIO:
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH)
• Topic:
  Workplace Safety & Health
• Location:
  North America
• Pages in Document:
  2-3
• Volume:
  21
• Issue:
  3
• NIOSHTIC Number:
  nn:20061541
• Citation:
  LA Morb Rep 2010 May-Jun; 21(1):2-3
• Email:
  mariella.gastanaduy@la.gov
• Federal Fiscal Year:
  2010
• NORA Priority Area:
  Services ; Wholesale and Retail Trade
• Performing Organization:
  Louisiana State Office of Public Health
• Peer Reviewed:
  False
• Start Date:
  20050701
• Source Full Name:
  Louisiana Morbidity Report
• End Date:
  20150630
• Collection(s):
  National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health
• Main Document Checksum:
  urn:sha-512:dca239ba8a0f657296d167f9a5938a97097816e7737a8f32c85b88fc754c6d5d2396f59ea968c5711a4f5ba806def92cbc4a53f6bf70191e2db3638e44b4f490
• Download URL:
  https://stacks.cdc.gov/view/cdc/225047/cdc_225047_DS1.pdf
• File Type:
  [PDF - 319.27 KB ]