Secular trends in fall-related hospitalizations in adolescents, youth and adults: a population-based study

Abstract

Background: Falls are one of the major causes of injury globally. However, there is a lack of populationbased studies on falls among adolescents, young and middle-aged adults. We therefore aimed to conduct a large-scale population study on the secular trend in incidence of fall-related hospitalization.Methods: A population-wide electronic database, Hong Kong's Clinical Data Analysis and Reporting System (CDARS), was used in this retrospective cohort study. Patients aged ≥10, hospitalized with diagnosis of accidental falls (ICD-9-CM E880-E888) from 2005-2018, were included. Outcome measures included the number, age-and sex-standardized incidence rate of fall-related hospital admissions, their length of stay (LOS) and 1-year all-cause mortality. Linear regression and average annual percentage change (AAPC) using joinpoint regression were computed for trend analysis. Findings: From 2005 to 2018, a total of 336,439 patients aged ≥10 were identified with fall-related hospitalization. Among these fall patients, 33.7% occurred at age < 60. The number of fall-related hospital admissions episodes increased significantly by 83.7% during the study period. The standardized incidence rate of falls per 10 0 0 person-years increased from 3.67 (95% CI 3.62-3.72) in 2005 to 4.79 (95% CI 4.74-4.84) in 2018. Although the total hospitalized bed-days increased from 178,723 days in 2005, to 299,273 days in 2018 ( + 67.5%,p < .0 0 01), the median length of stay per episode of falls decreased from 4.90 days to 3.79 days (p < .0 0 01).Interpretation: Continuous increase in the incidence of fall-related hospitalization in people aged ≥10 was observed. This suggested that falls are a public health issue in all ages. Further studies on the differences in the underlying risk factors and comorbidities between younger and older fall patients are warranted.

One-Legged Balance Performance and Fall Risk in Mid and Later Life: Longitudinal Evidence From a British Birth Cohort

“…These increases persist in age-adjusted analyses, indicating that this rise is not attributable to population aging alone. 12,13 Pooled data from Great Britain, Ireland, Australia, and The Netherlands indicate that fall prevalence rises during midlife from 8.7% (age 43 years) to 20.9% (age 50−54 years) to 29.9% (age 60−64 years) in women, with similar increases in men. 14 Despite meaningful fall prevalence in midlife, there is minimal evidence examining the risk factors for falls in middle-aged adults.…”

Treatment with methylphenidate and the risk of fractures among children and young people: A systematic review and self‐controlled case series study

“…11 Our recent study showed that accidental falls are not uncommon among young people in the general public. 12 Moreover, children and adolescents with ADHD have a higher risk of falls and injury than typically developing children and are therefore more likely to fracture a bone. [13][14][15][16] Although previous studies have demonstrated that the use of methylphenidate is associated with a lower risk of injury, 17,18 given the potential negative bone-metabolic effect of methylphenidate, it is not clear if methylphenidate is associated with the risk of fractures.…”

Immediate Risk for Cardiovascular Events in Hip Fracture Patients: A Population-Based Cohort Study

“…Furthermore, the reported increase in the incidence of fall-related hospitalization suggested that unintentional fall is an increasingly important public health issue (18). With unintentional fall being a public health issue and a potential key confounder in the previous studies, there is a need to investigate the association between hip fracture and CVD among patients having experienced falls.…”