Over 36,000 older people in the U.S. died in falls in 2020

[underpants]

https://www.washingtonpost.com/wellness/2023/05/22/fatal-falls-older-americans/

In 2020, the deaths of 36,508 U.S. residents 65 and older were related to falls, representing 86 percent of all fatal falls that year, according to research published in the journal JAMA.

Based on death certificate data compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the research found that fatal falls in this age group had increased from 10,097 in 1999, and at a rate that more than doubled in about two decades — from 29 deaths per 100,000 people to 69 deaths per 100,000 people.

The research notes that falls have become the leading cause of injury for the age group. More than 1 in 4 people 65 or older fall each year, according to the CDC (although the agency says less than half tell their doctor). About 1 in 5 falls results in a serious injury, such as broken bones or a head injury, and 3 million older adults are treated in emergency rooms each year because of falls.

[snowybirdie]

1. So scary

We're now hoping and praying for a 71year old relative who fell on vacation and is in a coma today. It can happen in a second.

[jimfields33]

17. I hope they recover

[brewens]

2. A couple years back I watched a doctor tell how he's careful about medications, especially BP

meds with his older patients because of falls. He claimed he has patients that benefitted from the BP meds, but as they get older the falls are their greatest risk and the BP med can make them dizzy. In a lot of cases, the slightly higher stroke risk was worth it if it made them safer at home.

[mackdaddy]

19. I take several BP meds. Every one has a 'may cause dizzyness' warning label.

Stroke or falling not a great choice.

[brewens]

20. I was on BP meds and a blood thinner. I was told my stroke risk was 1 in 100 in one year.

You don't want to mess with that because there is no telling how bad the stroke might be. If I was in my 80s and it wasn't much worse, I think I'd roll the dice and get off the meds.

I lost a bunch of weight and got back in shape and got rid of all the meds. Just the daily baby aspirin now.

[spooky3]

3. For people with 2 story houses, I highly recommend the hideous stair lifts.

Got one installed after TKR. I am much more confident going downstairs with it, especially when carrying stuff. I strongly believe they help prevent serious falls on stairs.

[Tanuki]

7. I live in a ranch house but have been curious about stair lifts,

as I know a few people who are facing challenges in their homes due to aging or disability. I don't know anyone who has one but am glad to hear that yours is working out so well for you! May I ask which brand you purchased?

[Polly Hennessey]

14. Why hideous? I have learned to love mine.

So helpful with groceries. Worth every penny on our curved stairway. Mine is an Acorn.

[maxsolomon]

25. Aesthetics.

It is possible for something to be useful and also displeasing to the eye.

[DET]

28. Question

Can I ask how much they cost?

[spooky3]

29. It depends on the size, heavy duty/not, and whether the staircase is curved.

There also are options, such as an electric or manual folding bottom piece so that it doesn’t block a hallway. I opted for the electric one because the hallway is tight and I wasn’t sure of my mobility post op. But I have a short straight staircase. It (a basic Bruno) was less than $5000. Not cheap, but less than moving or an elevator.

You can also have it removed easily, and will need only to patch a few holes in the stair treads if you do.

Worth every penny IMHO, but a friend who bought a more elaborate one ($12k) found that his wife didn’t want it later, and had the installer store the parts in his garage.

I’ve read that under some circumstances Medicare and insurance may pay for it.

[DET]

31. Thanks!

Not unreasonable given the alternative. I hope to age in place, but my knees are in bad shape from a fall on the basement stairwell onto the concrete floor. A stairlift (maybe two) is almost inevitable at some point. Thanks again.

[spooky3]

32. You're welcome. Sorry to hear about your knees. Nt

[Bernardo de La Paz]

4. Putin is hiding Ruzzian stats. . . nt

[underpants]

5. I heard this on the radio

One of the cohosts said “We’re getting into Russian business people numbers”

[Bernardo de La Paz]

10. A sharp cohost or a good writer, there. . . . nt

[Historic NY]

6. Last Year...for me on the mountain

Collar bone ligaments etc. repaired with donor ligament and a plate. I jump off a wall about 2 ft high. I will say trail sneakers are like suction cups. The upshot is as this happened last June first that the preparation for surgery found a more serious life-threatening condition with a 70% blockage in the main heart artery. So that was taken care of. My eagle eye cardiologist spotted it. So for me two serious injuries in my life found more serious conditions. I'm not allowed to climb ladders now either. The blockage was in the left anterior descending artery (LAD)

[underpants]

9. Wow.

[riversedge]

13. a simple EKG can detect narrowed or blocked arterteries. My clinic requires an EKG

before surgeries which I found out when I had ear surgery--which required gen. anesthesia.
I had none but glad they have this requirement.

[BeckyDem]

11. That had to be scary but also a relief so it could be addressed.

I'm older and I wear boat/deck shoes most of the time because they're super non slip. I hold onto railings even though I don't feel I need to. I try to be careful.

[Diamond_Dog]

8. My elderly mother was afraid that if she told her visiting nurse she fell

That the nurse would start a process to get her evicted from her home and put into a nursing home.

She fell, twice, we had to have the police break a window to get into her house to help her.

[Towlie]

12. Sloppy Statistics! The increase could be due to folks who would be dead of old age now live longer.

 
?

A statistic about people "65 and older" doesn't cut it. The analysis should be sorted into falls by people in specific age groups.

[Kaleva]

27. Hasn't life expectancy declined to 90's levels?

[spooky3]

30. Agree nt

[Submariner]

15. At 71 I started falling

and I was at my heaviest weight. Face planted in a Costco parking lot and felt embarrassed. I was like "how the hell did that just happen?" Did a few of those falls for a couple of years. Lucky I didn't break anything, just some slight hand laceration.

Five years later and 40 pounds lighter, I tripped once last year, and just got a knee carpet burn. In three months I moving into a ground floor apartment and get stairs out of my life.

Losing the weight was the trick to beating the falling syndrome, for me anyway.

[underpants]

16. Interesting and good for you

When I lose weight my balance gets all out of whack.

[Tree Lady]

18. I'm 66 but lately keep stubbing my toes

or hitting them on furniture. I think my body moves faster than my mind says where things are.

I do qigong, yoga and walk daily and only about 20 lbs overweight. I am trying to lose 10 now for my high blood pressure.

[Submariner]

24. When falling I noticed I was walking too fast

and indoors room to room stubbing my toes making corners too quickly. After a couple of falls I consciously slowed my pace which helped. I needed to get my legs back out in front of me before advancing too fast.

[Tree Lady]

33. Thanks I do need to slow down

[elocs]

22. I'm 70 and weigh what I did in high school when I was thin

thanks to going on a ketogenic diet 3 years ago and lost the weight easily and 3 years later it is still gone.
It's been so many decades since I have fallen for any reason that I can't remember when it might have happened. Having been a bike rider for decades likely helps with balance and I still ride at least 10 miles a day.

We all really need to get in at least decent physical shape before we retire so we can enjoy our retirement.

[Zeitghost]

23. That's great

Maintaining a healthy body weight and staying active is a huge part of maintaining health as we age.

[Towlie]

34. You see a lot of fat people and a lot of old people, but you don't see a lot of old fat people.

 
?

Hearing that is what prompted me to get control of my weight.

[megapuzzler]

21. Dehydration is a common cause of dizziness in older folks per our doctor

Just found this out through personal experience this past year. My husband woke up one morning so dizzy he was afraid to walk, got hold of our doctor who checked him out and then had him drink a lot of water. Turns out he was dehydrated and water fixed the problem. Evidently this is a big problem for us as we get older, as our sense of thirst becomes unreliable and we don't realize we're thirsty. Now we both drink lots of water every day whether we feel thirsty or not.

[maxsolomon]

26. My 90 year old MIL fell in the bathroom.

Broken hip, dead in 6 months. Pretty common story.

This number may be increasing because deaths from other causes are decreasing - the older you are, the more fragile.