[Falling accidents among metropolitan elderly resulting in emergency ambulance transfer]

The aim of this study was to examine the frequency and number of falling accidents in the the elderly population and to investigate the characteristics of the accidents. The investigation was performed in 58 Tokyo metropolitan townships for a one-year period from September 1st, 1997, and the 517 cases, in which persons were over 65 years old, fell down were studied (136 men, 381 women). The yearly accident frequency for 1,000 elderly over 65 population was 4.13 cases for men and 7.88 cases for women, being 1.9 times higher in women. Also the number of accidents in each township was significantly correlated to the population of the elderly over 65 (men r = 0.674, women r = 0.846, p < 0.001). The analysis by age showed the percentage of accidents in single-family housing among the oldest-old population was significantly higher than the young-old population (p < 0.05) for both men and women. According to logistic regression analysis results, injured body part and the form of dwelling house were significantly correlated as risk factors of fracture (p < 0.05). The odds ratio of injured body part was 7.559 (95% CI 4.926-11.598), and that of the form of dwelling house was 1.660 (95% CI 1.067-2.584), showing that injury of limbs and the accidents in single-family housing would increase risk of fracture. Promoting preventative measures for falling accidents in single-family housing appears important in the prevention of falling accidents among the metropolitan elderly.