Who is at risk?

Who is at risk?

• Men are more likely to die from a fall. After adjusting for age, the fall fatality rate in 2004 was 49% higher for men than for women.
• Women are 67% more likely than men to have a nonfatal fall injury.
  Rates of fall-related fractures among older adults are more than twice as high for women as for men.
• In 2003, about 72% of older adults admitted to the hospital for hip fractures were women.
• The risk of being seriously injured in a fall increases with age. In 2001, the rates of fall injuries for adults 85 and older were four to five times that of adults 65 to 74.
• Nearly 85% of deaths from falls in 2004 were among people 75 and older.
• People 75 and older who fall are four to five times more likely to be admitted to a long-term care facility for a year or longer.
• There is little difference in fatal fall rates between whites and blacks from ages 65 to 74.
• After age 75, white men have the highest fatality rates, followed by white women, black men, and black women.
• White women have significantly higher rates of fall–related hip fractures than black women.
  Among older adults, non–Hispanics have higher fatal fall rates than Hispanics.