Nonfatal and Fatal Falls Among Adults Aged ≥65 Years - United States, 2020-2021.
Level 4 - case-series / case-control
Cross-sectional survey and national vital statistics surveillance study
PubMed 37651272 · doi:10.15585/mmwr.mm7235a1
What was done
Data from the 2020 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) and the 2021 National Vital Statistics System (NVSS) were analyzed to calculate the percentage of US adults aged >=65 years reporting a fall in the previous year and unintentional fall-related mortality rates. Results were stratified by demographic characteristics, US Census Bureau region, and state.
What was found
In 2020, 27.6% (14 million) of older adults reported falling in the prior year, with higher self-reported falls in women (28.9%) than men (26.1%) and wide state-level variation (19.9% in Illinois to 38.0% in Alaska). In 2021, 38,742 older adults died from unintentional falls (78.0 per 100,000 population). Fall-related death rates were higher in men (91.4 per 100,000) than women (68.3 per 100,000) and varied by state from 30.7 per 100,000 in Alabama to 176.5 per 100,000 in Wisconsin.
Why it matters
These findings establish national and state-specific benchmarks for older adult fall burden, highlighting notable sex and geographic disparities to target prevention efforts.
Limits
Nonfatal fall estimates rely on self-reported recall over a 12-month period, subject to recall bias. Mortality estimates rely on death certificate coding accuracy across states. Total survey sample size, injury severity, and specific risk factors were not detailed in the abstract.