Epidemiologic characteristics of fall in old population: Results from national injury surveillance in China, 2014

Abstract

To understand the epidemiologic characteristics of fall in people aged ≥60 years in China and provide evidence for the development of prevention and control measures of fall in old population.Data of fall in people aged ≥60 years in China in 2014 were collected from National Injury Surveillance System (NISS) for the descriptive epidemiologic analysis.A total of 41,073 fall cases were reported in people aged ≥60 years in 2014, accounting for 52.81% of total unintentional injuries in this population. The fall to unintentional injury ratio was higher in older age group. The gender ratio of fall cases was 0.77 and the proportion of females increased with age. Fall mainly occurred during 8:00-11:59 in the morning (33.31%). The top three places where fall might occur were home (55.66%), public residential places (20.52%) and roads (11.64%). Recreational activity (68.94%) and housework/study (16.14%) were the major causes for fall. The common injury sites were low limbs (29.28%), head (24.40%) and body (20.04%), while the common injuries caused by fall were bruise (45.76%) and fractures (29.52%), spain/strain (13.28%). The fall injuries were mainly mild (64.20%), while more moderate and serious fall injuries occurred in older age group.Fall is the major cause of injury in old population in China, and the proportion of fall in unintentional injury in this population increased with age, indicating that the prevention of fall in old population should be strengthened.