Injuries and fatalities from falls steadily increase with age and peak among those aged 85 and older. Not surprisingly, research shows that older individuals who require mobility assistive devices like canes and walkers are at especially high risk for falls. Compared with older individuals who do not use assistive devices, users are 11 times more likely to report a fall in the last three months and are six times more likely (odds ratio 7:1) to report that they limit walking outside due to concerns about falling.
Use the interactive chart to explore preventable fall deaths, injuries, and rates by age and sex.
Source: National Safety Council tabulations of National Center for Health Statistics data. Fatality data are based on death certificates, while nonfatal data reflect estimates of emergency department visits.
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Preventing older adult falls
A review of 54 randomized clinical trials found that the combination of exercise and vision assessment/treatment likely has the strongest association with decreasing fall injuries among older adults. A recent CDC study assessing the cost-benefit analysis of three older adult fall-prevention programs identified a positive return on investment for all three programs; the three programs demonstrated that the cost of decreased direct medical costs was greater than the costs associated with implementing the program. Two of these programs, which focused either on Tai Chi or improving balance, when administered to persons age 80 and older, both resulted in return on investment greater than 100%. A similar study found that adults who consistently participate in exercise programs such as EnhanceFitness can reduce their risk of experiencing a medically treated fall by 20-30%. EnhancedFitness is an evidence-based, community-based group exercise intervention funded by CDC.