CDC: Falls, Leading Health Threat

Falls primarily lead to injury and death in the elderly, a study found in the September 23 issue U.S. Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report says.

CDC researchers studied data from the 2014 Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System survey. Elderly ages 65 and above from the District of Columbia and the 50 states answered a survey on falls.

During that year alone, in 2014, 28.7% of respondents claimed to have fallen at least once during the previous year, which has resulted to around 29 million falls. Out of the falls incurred, 37.5% pointed out at least one that required medical attention or restriction of activities for at least a day. Medicare incurs a total of $31.3 billion per year in dealing with falls.

The impact of falls on the elderly has been so tremendous that they often signal the loss of independence, Tom Frieden, MD, MPH, CDC director reiterated. With these, they advise home care services specialists and other care providers to look into this as they cater to their patients.

— Image Courtesy of OMG Solutions