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CMAJ Today!

Rising concern about falls

Date: Oct. 5, 1999
Time: 2:52 pm

Falls accounted for more than half (54%) of the 204 597 admissions to Canadian hospitals because of injury in 1997/98, the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI) reported today. By comparison, much more widely publicized motor vehicle injuries account for only 15% of injury-related admissions. Intentional injuries, including attempted suicide, attempted homicide and assault, accounted for 6% of the total.

People who were injured spent close to 2 million days in hospital in 1997/98; 6400 of these patients died, including 4830 people who had been injured in falls. "Injuries pose a significant burden in terms of loss of life, reduced quality of life and economic cost," explains CIHI's Dr. Barry McLellan.

Not all of the news was bad. The number of injury-related hospital admissions has actually declined by 8% in the past 4 years. However, even though the number of fall-related hospital admissions fell by 7% during this period, the number of in-hospital deaths among these patients rose by 8%.

The Northwest Territories and Yukon share the dubious distinction of having Canada's highest injury-related admission rate to hospital (113 per 10 000 people); the national average is 68 per 10 000, with Prince Edward Island having the lowest rate (52 per 10 000).

Falls account for 85% of injury admissions for people aged 65 and older. Overall, the average age of people being admitted to hospital is increasing, rising from 46 to 49 in the last 4 years.

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