Identifying characteristics and outcomes that are associated with fall-related fatalities: multi-year retrospective summary of fall deaths in older adults from 2005–2012

BACKGROUND: Fall-related deaths continue to be the leading cause of accidental deaths in the older adult (65+ year) population. However, many fall-related fatalities are unspecified and little is known about the fall characteristics and personal demographics at the time of the fall. Therefore, this report describes the characteristics, circumstances and injuries of falls that resulted in older adult deaths in one U.S. County and explores the variables associated with fatal injuries from falls. METHODS: This is a continued retrospective analysis of 841older adults whose underlying cause of death was due to a fall over an 8-year period (2005–2012). Demographics and logistic regression of fall characteristics and injuries were analyzed. RESULTS: Falls that led to death most often occurred when walking in one’s own home. Most of the residents in this study were community-dwellers who had previous comorbidities taking an average of six medications prior to their fall. Survival after a fall was on average 31 days. The two most common injuries after a fatal fall were hip fractures (54%), and head injuries (21%). A logistic regression identified two variables associated with hip fracture, advancing age (OR = 1.05, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02–1.08) and diagnosis of a prior neurological condition (OR = 2.1, 95% CI = 1.4–3.1). Variables associated with head injuries included younger age (OR = .91, 95% CI = .89–.94), male gender (OR = 2.5, 95% CI = 1.7–3.8), prescribed anticoagulants (OR = 2.4, 95% CI = 1.5–3.9) and negative musculoskeletal comorbidity (OR = 1.9. 95% CI = 1.1–3.0). CONCLUSION: Hip fractures and head injuries were the most common injury after a fall that led to death in older adults greater than 65 years. There are opposing risk factors for older adults who incur a hip fracture compared to a head injury. Thus, health professionals will need to individualize prevention efforts to reduce fall fatalities.