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A new study revealed that despite prevention efforts, falls in older adults have increased by about 1.5% annually, with wide variations in incidence based on geography. And this data does not even account for a greater prevalence of falls and related injuries in older people due to COVID-19-related restrictions, which increased sedentary behavior and physical inactivity.
“It could be that efforts aren’t working — or that they are, by mitigating even worse potential injury risk in the population,” said Geoffrey Hoffman, assistant professor at the University of Michigan School of Nursing and co-author of the research letter, which appears in JAMA Network Open. “Either way, more investment in prevention, such as education and funding for fall education and prevention programs would help.”
For this study, researchers analyzed claims from 2016-2019 for adults 65 and older. The 1.5% average annual increase translates to an additional 106,000 new fall injuries or an estimated $1 billion in new fall injury spending over the study period.
However, it’s not clear why falls are increasing, according to Hoffman. Changes in health and function, medication prescribing patterns, or even a more active older population could all contribute to increased falls. The findings could also reflect other changes in treatment and care or how fall injuries are administratively coded.
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