TY - JOUR
PY - 2019//
TI - Sharp rise in fall-induced cervical spine injuries among older adults between 1970 and 2017
JO - Journals of gerontology. Series A: Biological sciences and medical sciences
A1 - Kannus, Pekka
A1 - Niemi, Seppo
A1 - Parkkari, Jari
A1 - Mattila, Ville M.
SP - ePub
EP - ePub
VL - ePub
IS - ePub
N2 - BACKGROUND: Fall-induced injuries in older adults are a major public health challenge.
METHODS: We determined the current trends in the number and age-adjusted incidence of fall-induced severe cervical spine injuries among older adults in Finland by taking into account all spersons 50 years of age or older who were admitted to Finnish hospitals for primary treatment of these injuries between 1970 and 2017. Similar patients aged 20-49 years served as a reference group.
RESULTS: The annual number of fall-induced severe cervical spine injuries among older Finnish adults rose steeply during the follow-up, from 59 in 1970 to 502 in 2017. The age-adjusted incidence of injury (per 100,000 persons) was higher in men than women throughout this period and showed a clear increase from 1970 to 2017: from 8.4 to 25.0 in men, and from 2.8 to 13.9 in women. In both sexes, the increase was most prominent in the oldest age group, persons aged 80 years or older. In the reference group, the injury incidence declined by time.
CONCLUSIONS: The number and incidence of fall-induced severe cervical spine injuries among older Finns showed a sharp rise between 1970 and 2017. An increase in the average risk of serious falls may partly explain the phenomenon. Effective fall and injury prevention measures are urgently needed since further aging of the population is likely to aggravate the problem in the near future.
© The Author(s) 2019. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of The Gerontological Society of America. All rights reserved. For permissions, please e-mail: journals.permissions@oup.com. Language: en
LA - en
SN - 1079-5006
UR - http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/gerona/glz283
ID - ref1
ER -