Injury in Late Life

Abstract

Epidemiologic studies show that injury is a nonrandom event of considerable consequence to older people. Even though children have the highest injury rates for all injuries combined, the elderly have the highest death rates and the highest dysfunction and disability rates from falls, fires and contact with hot substances, and vehicular crashes. There are notable race and sex differences in injuries in the elderly. Women have higher rates of injury from falls than men. Men have higher injury rates from burns and motor vehicle crashes (including pedestrian injuries), and for each of the three categories of injury men have higher death rates than women. Before the age of 75, nonwhite males have the highest rates of death from injury. At 75, however, white males cross over to have a much higher rate of death from injury than do nonwhite males. More than half the deaths due to unintentional injury in persons 65 and older are caused by falls. White men have the highest death rates from falls, followed by white women. More than a fourth of the injury fatalities for people 65 and older are from motor vehicle crashes. More than 9.3 per cent of all licensed drivers are 65 or older. Older drivers drive fewer miles than other people, and they tend to limit their driving to daytime and to relatively less stressful conditions. Nonetheless, when miles driven by drivers over 64 are taken into account, the relatively small number of crashes is equivalent to a crash rate exceeded only by the under‐25 age group. Pedestrian deaths account for more than a third of motor vehicle deaths to people 65 and older. The death rate from burns is higher in the elderly than in any other age group, including young children. In the event of thermal injury, old people are much less likely to survive. Diminished ability to perceive hazard and to respond effectively contributes to higher injury rates among the elderly, as does lower injury threshold.

The evaluation of geriatric patients who presented with trauma to the emergency department

“…The order of frequency of trauma mechanisms show significant differences depending on the clinics, countries and years [33]. Falls are the most commonly observed injuries and the most frequent cause of age-related deaths [34]. Personal factors are as important in their formation as environmental factors.…”

Gait disorders and fall risk: Detection and prevention

“…15 If an older person is hospitalized following a fall, there is a roughly 50% 1-year mortality rate, usually not as a direct consequence of injury but rather from factors associated with bed rest, deconditioning, and general deterioration of health. 16 Falls also remain a major reason for placement outside the home, as they often mark an individual who can no longer safely live independently. In institutions, there are between 1.5 and 2 falls per bed per year; 10%-25% of these falls result in injury.…”

Measuring gait pattern in elderly individuals by using a plantar pressure measurement device

“…One-third of the elderly population experience a fall at least once a year, and the prevalence of multiple annual falls in this population is about 15% [1][2][3]. Fracture from falls occurs at a frequency of 5-10% in accidents [4][5][6], and 13% of elderly deaths are due to falls [7]. It is, therefore, necessary to establish effective fall prevention measures given the increase in the elderly population.…”