Fall-related mortality trends in older Japanese adults aged ≥65 years: a nationwide observational study

Abstract

ObjectivesFall-related mortality among older adults is a major public health issue, especially for ageing societies. This study aimed to investigate current trends in fall-related mortality in Japan using nationwide population-based data covering 1997–2016.DesignWe analysed fall-related deaths among older persons aged ≥65 years using the data provided by the Japanese Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare.ResultsThe crude and age-standardised mortality rates were calculated per 100 000 persons by stratifying by age (65–74, 75–84 and ≥85 years) and sex. To identify trend changes, a joinpoint regression model was applied by estimating change points and annual percentage change (APC). The total number of fall-related deaths in Japan increased from 5872 in 1997 to 8030 in 2016, of which 78.8% involved persons aged ≥65 years. The younger population (65–74 years) showed continuous and faster-decreasing trends for both men and women. Average APC among men aged ≥75 years did not decrease. Among middle-aged and older women (75–84 and ≥85 years) decreasing trends were observed. Furthermore, the age-adjusted mortality rate of men was approximately twice that of women, and it showed a faster decrease for women.ConclusionsAlthough Japanese healthcare has shown improvement in preventing fall-related deaths over the last two decades, the crude mortality for those aged over 85 years remains high, indicating difficulty in reducing fall-related deaths in the super-aged population. Further investigations to uncover causal factors for falls in older populations are required.

The mortality trends of falls among the elderly adults in the mainland of China, 2013—2020: A population-based study through the National Disease Surveillance Points system

“…In fact, many older adults are now living longer, which in themselves increases the risk of fall injury. Furthermore, our result was similar to those 24,26,27 indicated that fall-related mortality rates were higher in men than in women throughout the study period. Several studies had attempted to explain the high falls mortality in male.…”

“…The data file includes by-variables such as age group ( Table 1 ), provinces ( Figure 1 ), and gender ( Figure 2 ). The temporal trend of elderly falls was assessed by calculating via the annual percentage change (APC) and average annual percent change (AAPC) for each indicator 24 and testing for statistical significance of the overall trend and the change in trend for each segment. The APC is used to calculate the internal trend for each independent interval of the segmentation function, or the global trend with zero connected points.…”

Development of an algorithm for assessing fall risk in a Japanese inpatient population

“…Falls in older individuals are most often due to multiple causes such as muscle weakness, age-related declines in balance, gait stability, and cardiovascular function, acute illness (e.g., fever, dehydration, arrhythmia), mild cognitive impairment, new medication, and environmental change 7 – 15 . In addition, falls cause the injuries that require treatment 16 , and can result in serious complications 6 , 17 , 18 . For instance, traumatic cerebral hemorrhage cases due to fall accidents account for two-thirds of deaths, and serious injuries due to falls cause a loss of disability-adjusted life years 17 – 19 .…”

Mortalidade por quedas em idosos no Distrito Federal: características e tendência temporal no período 1996-2017

“…Observou-se aumento na tendência da mortalidade por quedas nos idosos a partir de 80 anos, resultado semelhante ao de outros estudos. [25][26][27][28] Um estudo ecológico nacional, realizado entre 1996 e 2012, observou aumento de 200% na taxa de mortalidade de idosos em decorrência de quedas, nas capitais brasileiras; 25 de Saúde (1998 a 2015), observou tendência crescente das taxas de internação, mortalidade e letalidade por quedas em idosos (4,5%). 26 Em conclusão, observou-se tendência crescente na mortalidade por quedas em idosos com 80 anos ou mais, no Distrito Federal, entre 1996 e 2017.…”