Costs of Falls Among Older Adults
In 2000, the total direct cost of all fall injuries for people 65 and older exceeded $19 billion.1
The financial toll for older adult falls is expected to increase as the population ages, and may reach
$54.9 billion by 2020 (adjusted to 2007 dollars).2
How costly are fall-related injuries among older adults?
How do these costs break down?
- One in three adults 65 and older falls each year.3, 4
- Of those who fall, 20% to 30% suffer moderate to severe injuries that make it hard for them to get around or live independently and increase their chances of early death.5
- Older adults are hospitalized for fall-related injuries five times more often than they are for injuries from other causes.5
The costs of fall-related injuries are often shown in terms of direct costs.
- Direct costs are what patients and insurance companies pay for treating fall-related injuries. These costs include fees for hospital and nursing home care, doctors and other professional services, rehabilitation, community-based services, use of medical equipment, prescription drugs, changes made to the home, and insurance processing.2
- Direct costs do not account for the long-term effects of these injuries such as disability, dependence on others, lost time from work and household duties, and reduced quality of life.
How costly are fall-related injuries among older adults?
- In 2000, the total direct cost of all fall injuries for people 65 and older exceeded $19 billion: $0.2 billion for fatal falls, and $19 billion for nonfatal falls.1
- By 2020, the annual direct and indirect cost of fall injuries is expected to reach $54.9 billion (in 2007 dollars).2
- In a study of people age 72 and older, the average health care cost of a fall injury totaled $19,440, which included hospital, nursing home, emergency room, and home health care, but not doctors’ services.6
How do these costs break down?
Age and sex
- The costs of fall injuries increase rapidly with age.1
- In 2000, the costs of both fatal and nonfatal falls were higher for women than for men.7
- Medical costs in 2000 for women, who comprised 58% of older adults, were two to three times higher than for men.1
Type of injury and treatment setting
- In 2000, traumatic brain injuries (TBI) and injuries to the hips, legs, and feet were the most common and costly fatal fall injuries, and accounted for 78% of fatalities and 79% of costs.1
- Injuries to internal organs caused 28% of deaths and accounted for 29% of costs from fatal falls.1
- Hospitalizations accounted for nearly two thirds of the costs of nonfatal fall injuries, and emergency department treatment accounted for 20%.1
- On average, the hospitalization cost for a fall injury was $17,500.7
- Fractures were both the most common and most costly type of nonfatal injuries. Just over one third of nonfatal injuries were fractures, but they accounted for 61% of costs—or $12 billion.1
- Hip fractures are the most frequent type of fall-related fractures. The cost of hospitalization for hip fracture averaged about $18,000 and accounted for 44% of direct medical costs for hip fractures.8
References
1Stevens JA, Corso PS, Finkelstein EA, Miller TR. The costs of fatal and nonfatal falls among older adults. Injury Prevention 2006;12:290–5.
2Englander F, Hodson TJ, Terregrossa RA. Economic dimensions of slip and fall injuries. Journal of Forensic Science 1996;41(5):733–46.
3Hausdorff JM, Rios DA, Edelber HK. Gait variability and fall risk in community-living older adults: a 1-year prospective study. Archives of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation 2001;82(8):1050–6.
4Hornbrook MC, Stevens VJ, Wingfield DJ, Hollis JF, Greenlick MR, Ory MG. Preventing falls among community-dwelling older persons: results from a randomized trial. The Gerontologist 1994;34(1):16–23.
5Alexander BH, Rivara FP, Wolf ME. The cost and frequency of hospitalization for fall-related injuries in older adults. American Journal of Public Health 1992;82(7):1020–3.
6Rizzo JA, Friedkin R, Williams CS, Nabors J, Acampora D, Tinetti ME. Health care utilization and costs in a Medicare population by fall status. Medical Care 1998;36(8):1174–88.
7Roudsari BS, Ebel BE, Corso PS, Molinari, NM, Koepsell TD. The acute medical care costs of fall-related injuries among the U.S. older adults. Injury, Int J Care Injured 2005;36:1316-22.
8Barrett-Connor E. The economic and human costs of osteoporotic fracture. American Journal of Medicine 1995;98(suppl 2A):2A–3S to 2A–8S.
Page last modified: August 28, 2008