Elderly dying from falls more often

Associated Press ^ | November 17, 2006 | MIKE STOBBE

[libstripper]

ATLANTA -- The death rate from falling has risen dramatically for elderly people since the 1990s, said federal health officials, speculating that it's because people are living longer with chronic conditions like cancer and heart disease.

"Since people are not dying as much from chronic diseases, they're more likely to die from a fall," said Judy Stevens, an epidemiologist with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Falling is the 14th leading cause of death among the elderly.

But Stevens, lead author of the study reported Thursday in CDC's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report, had good news to offer too.

Women's hip fracture injury rates have dropped in recent years, probably because of osteoporosis screenings and bone-building treatments.

[libstripper]

My parents lived to 88 and 93 1/2. Each had falls and, in each case, the fall was a symptom of something far more serious. For example, my mother had a severe combination stroke/heart attack that put her in a nursing home. She blacked out and fell as she was having it. A couple of weeks before he died of congestive heart failure, my father had at last one severe fall that probably resulted from a blackout brought on by his deteriorating heart condition. Hence, any fall by an elderly person needs to be investigated to see if it wasn't caused by something far more serious than just slipping on a spot of wet floor, serious as any such fall can be.

The other thing I discovered was that health care facilities often try to ease relatives into bad news by saying, "Your mother just had a fall," when they really mean, "Your mother just had a stroke, blacked out, and fell as a result."

[Brilliant]

If you don't die from cancer, stroke, or a heart attack, then you will die from something else. It's a statistical certainty.

[stayathomemom]

I know of two people whose falls tipped the scales and made their health precarious. One broke her arm and the reduction in mobility and ability to care for herself and receive the dialysis she had been having resulted in her death within months. The other was recovering successfully from knee surgery, had a fall, developed an infection as a result of the fall, and never recovered.

I spend about five hours a day with my mother to aid her so she won't fall. At 89 (almost) her hips are fine, but her spine is a mess!

[CindyDawg]

Sometimes the hip breaks and then they fall.

[Leisler]

I got a aunt, 86, fell and broke her femur. Great bitter conservative. Thought Joe McCarthy was too lefty. Anyways, she's been living the last fifty years on chocolate, fried hot dogs, cigarettes and a half bottle of vodka martinis a day.

She blamed the carpet.

[BadAndy]

The answer is to sue for softer floors.

[rellimpank]

--it's all the fault of the evil drug companies and their miracles of modern chemistry--this stuff (like antibiotics) keeps people alive so long that they die from stuff like this rather than kicking off from pnuemonia at sixty like God intended--

[ladiesview61]

aww jeeze come on..that's terrible!

[Puppage]

aww jeeze come on..that's terrible!

What? It was a good commercial.

[Graymatter]

"The son of a bush pitched me!" --- John F. Kerry, noted US ski bunny.

[Izzy Dunne]

I heard the Dumocrats are going to repeal the law of gravity and take care of this unfortunate situation...

[CPOSharky]

If you don't die from cancer, stroke, or a heart attack, then you will die from something else. It's a statistical certainty.

When a person gets to a certain age, almost anything out of the ordinary can do them in. Blaming old-age deaths on a single cause is silly.

[megatherium]

The problem of course is that gravity has increased in strength, because of global warming or something. In fact, just this morning I weighed 3 lbs more than I did last week.

[Pure Country]

Yes, this is so true. Our neighbor died from a fall. He was 87. Of course, his fall was from the roof of his house where he was replacing some shingles. He was quite the man! We also have a friend who is 92 and just finished re-wiring his three story farm house, aided by his 88 year old wife. Since then, he has had a stroke (after the doctors told him to slow down) and he's not handling it well at all.

[spectre]

Most elderly people are on several different medications and some of these can cause dizziness.

So they fall...duh.

sw

[Dysart]

Many elderly falls occur in the bath area; Medicare, in their infinite wisdom, does not pay for inexpensive bathroom safety equipment. And then frequently pays for expensive surgery and extended hospital stays and rehab as a result.

[E. Pluribus Unum]

I'm just afraid that all of us are going to die some day.

Hopefully not all on the same day.

:)

[CertainInalienableRights]

"they're more likely to die from a fall"

Well, its a good thing the Democrats are now in charge. Congress can just make falling illegal.

Problem solved.