Alarming rise in fall-induced severe head injuries among elderly people

This study assessed the current trend in the number and incidence (per 100,000 persons) of fall-induced severe head injuries among the very old adults in Finland, an EU-country with a well-defined white population of 5.2 million, by taking into account all persons 80 years of age or older who were admitted to our hospitals for primary treatment of such injury in 1970-2004. The number of Finns aged 80 years or older with a fall-induced severe head injury increased considerably between the years 1970 and 2004, from 60 (women) and 25 (men) in 1970 to 745 (women), and 350 (men) in 2004. The relative increases were 1142 and 1300%, respectively. Across the study period, the age-adjusted incidence of injury also showed a clear increase from 1970 to 2004, from 168 to 506 in women (201% increase), and from 172 to 609 in men (254% increase). A similar finding was observed in age-specific incidences. If the age-adjusted incidence of injury continues to rise at the same rate as in 1970-2004 and the size of the 80 year old or older population of Finland increases as predicted (approximately 2.2-fold increase during the coming 25 years), the number of fall-induced severe head injuries in this population will be about 3.4-fold higher in the year 2030 than it was in 2004. In Finnish persons 80 years of age or older, the number of fall-induced severe head injuries shows an alarming rise with a rate that cannot be explained merely by the demographic changes of the population. The finding underscores an increasing influence of falls on well-being of our elderly persons, and therefore, effective fall-prevention actions should be initiated to control this development.