Preventing Falls in Older Persons

Among older persons, falls are common (about 25% of older US adults fall each year), injurious (approximately 37% of those who fall require medical treatment or restrict their activity for at least 1 day), expensive (approximately $50 billion per year is spent on medical costs related to falls), and are a worsening problem. In fact, age-adjusted rates of fatal falls increased 41% in the US from 2012 to 2021. Moreover, because the incidence of falls rises with increasing age, the absolute number of older adults who fall will increase dramatically as the next generation enters the highest-risk age groups.