Citation

Hartholt KA, Polinder S, van Beeck EF, van der Velde N, van Lieshout EM, Patka P, van der Cammen TJ. Am. J. Public Health 2012; 102(Suppl 2): S207-S211.

Affiliation

Klaas A. Hartholt, Nathalie van der Velde, and Tischa J. M. van der Cammen are with the Section of Geriatric Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, The Netherlands. Klaas A. Hartholt, Esther M. M. van Lieshout, and Peter Patka are with the Department of Surgery-Traumatology, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam. Suzanne Polinder and Ed F. van Beeck are with the Department of Public Health, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2012, American Public Health Association)

DOI

10.2105/AJPH.2011.300288

PMID

22401528

Abstract

Objectives. We determined time trends in numbers and rates of fall-related mortality in an aging population, for men and women. Methods. We performed secular trend analysis of fall-related deaths in the older Dutch population (persons aged 65 years or older) from 1969 to 2008, using the national Official-Cause-of-Death-Statistics. Results. Between 1969 and 2008, the age-adjusted fall-related mortality rate decreased from 202.1 to 66.7 per 100 000 older persons (decrease of 67%). However, the annual percentage change (change per year) in mortality rates was not constant, and could be divided into 3 phases: (1) a rapid decrease until the mid-1980s (men -4.1%; 95% confidence interval [CI] = -4.9, -3.2; women -6.5%; 95% CI, -7.1, -5.9), (2) flattening of the decrease until the mid-1990s (men -1.4%; 95% CI = -2.4, -0.4; women -2.0%; 95% CI = -3.4, -0.6), and (3) stable mortality rates for women (0.0%; 95% CI = -1.2, 1.3) and rising rates for men (1.9%; 95% CI = 0.6, 3.2) over the last decade. Conclusions. The spectacular decrease in fall-related mortality ended in the mid-1990s and is currently increasing in older men at similar rates to those seen in women. Because of the aging society, absolute numbers in fall-related deaths are increasing rapidly. (Am J Public Health. Published online ahead of print March 8, 2012: e1-e5. doi:10.2105/AJPH.2011.300288).

Language: en