Many Head Injuries Fatal for Elderly

(June 25, 2008) - Many of the elderly suffer from head injuries when they fall. (Read about "Head Injury" "Accidental Falls") Often times those falls can be deadly. Traumatic brain injuries due to falls caused nearly 8,000 deaths and 56,000 hospitalizations in one year among Americans 65 and older, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Head injuries are to blame for 50 percent of the elderly who died from falls the year of the study.

Traumatic brain injuries, or TBIs, are caused by a bump or blow to the head; however, they maybe missed or misdiagnosed among older adults. TBI often results in long-term cognitive, emotional, and/or functional impairments. The year of the study, TBIs accounted for 50 percent of unintentional fall deaths and 8 percent of nonfatal fall-related hospitalizations among older adults.

"Most people think older adults may only break their hip (Read about "Hip Fractures") when they fall, but our research shows that traumatic brain injuries can also be a serious consequence," said Dr. Ileana Arias, director of CDC's National Center for Injury Prevention and Control. "These injuries can cause long-term problems and affect how someone thinks or functions. They can also impact a person's emotional well-being."

Each year, one in three older Americans (65 and older) falls, and 30 percent of falls cause injuries requiring medical treatment. The year of the study, nearly 16,000 older adults died from falls, 1.8 million older adults were treated in emergency departments (Read about "Emergency Room"), and 433,000 of these patients were hospitalized. Falls are the leading cause of injury deaths and nonfatal injuries for those 65 and over.