Fall-related traumatic brain injury deaths and hospitalizations among older adults — United States, 2005

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Abstract

Problem

Among older adults, both unintentional falls and traumatic brain injuries (TBI) result in significant morbidity and mortality; however, only limited national data on fall-related TBI are available. Method: To examine the relationship between older adult falls and TBI deaths and hospitalizations, CDC analyzed 2005 data from the National Center for Health Statistics' National Vital Statistics System and the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality's Nationwide Inpatient Sample. Results: In 2005, among adults  65 years, there were 7946 fall-related TBI deaths and an estimated 56,423 hospitalizations for nonfatal fall-related TBI in the United States. Fall-related TBI accounted for 50.3% of unintentional fall deaths and 8.0% of nonfatal fall-related hospitalizations. Summary: These findings underscore the need for greater dissemination and implementation of evidence-based fall prevention interventions.

Section snippets

Problem

Unintentional falls are the leading cause of injury-related deaths and emergency department visits for U.S. adults aged  65 years (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [CDC], 2005). Older adults also have the highest rates of traumatic brain injury (TBI) deaths and hospitalizations (Rutland-Brown, Langlois, Thomas, & Xi, 2006). CDC examined the relationship between older adult falls and TBI deaths and hospitalizations using 2005 data, the most recent year of data available, from the

Method

Death data were obtained from the Mortality Multiple Cause of Death File from the NCHS NVSS. The NVSS provides a complete enumeration of all deaths in the United States (NCHS, 2008). For this report, we included all deaths that occurred among U.S. residents that had an underlying cause of death listed as an unintentional fall (International Classification of Diseases, Tenth Revision [ICD-10] codes W00–W19) and that included one of the ICD-10 codes contained in CDC's TBI mortality case definition

Results

In 2005 there were 7,946 fall-related TBI deaths among people aged  65 years, which accounted for 50.3% of all fall-related deaths in this age group (Table 1). Death rates for fall-related TBI were higher among men than women (26.9 per 100,000 and 21.6 per 100,000, respectively). For both men and women, deaths rates increased with age (Fig. 1).

Also, there were an estimated 56,423 hospitalizations for nonfatal fall-related TBI, which accounted for 8.0% of fall-related hospitalizations (Table 1).

Discussion

This report confirms that fall-related TBI contribute substantially to mortality and morbidity among older adults. Half of unintentional fall deaths and 8% of hospitalizations for nonfatal falls were attributable to TBI. These injuries often result in long-term cognitive, emotional, and functional impairments (Rutland-Brown et al., 2006). With the aging of the U.S. population, and without intervention, the number of these injuries will likely increase.

The numbers and rates of TBI deaths and

Conclusion

CDC has developed three new resources to help prevent falls and TBI among older adults. Each incorporates four evidence-based fall prevention strategies — encouraging exercise, having medicines reviewed, having vision checked, and making homes safer. The first resource, Help Seniors Live Better, Longer: Prevent Brain Injury, (CDC, 2008) is an initiative to raise awareness among children of older adults and other caregivers about ways to prevent, recognize, and respond to fall-related TBI in

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