According to recent a National Center for Health Statistics (NCHS) Date Brief
Unintentional injuries accounted for 85% of all injury deaths among adults aged 65 and over in the United States in 2012–2013; suicide and homicide accounted for 13% and 2%, respectively.
- The age-adjusted fall injury death rate among adults aged 65 and over increased from 29.6 per 100,000 in 2000 to 56.7 per 100,000 in 2013.
- More than one-half (55%) of all unintentional injury deaths among adults aged 65 and over were due to falls.
- Fourteen percent of unintentional injury deaths for this age group were caused by motor vehicle traffic crashes, resulting in more than 6,000 deaths per year.
- Suffocation, including deaths from positional asphyxia and choking on food or other objects, was the third leading cause of unintentional injury death among adults aged 65 and over, accounting for 8% of unintentional injury deaths.
- Ten percent of unintentional injury deaths among adults aged 65 and over were coded as “cause unspecified.”
Injury deaths place a large burden on society, and many of these deaths are preventable. Reducing fatal injuries is a Healthy People 2020 Leading Health Indicator, emphasizing its importance as a high-priority public health issue.
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db199.htm