Rising mortality trends due to falls among the elderly in Southwest China from 2014 to 2022: age-period-cohort analysis of 6,524 individuals.

BACKGROUND: According to previous studies, falls are one of the important causes of death among the elderly. In recent years, the fall-related mortality rate among the elderly population has been on a continuous rise, which is significantly affected by factors such as age growth and period changes. However, traditional epidemiological. OBJECTIVE: To examine the temporal trends and epidemiological characteristics of fall-induced mortality among older adults in Luzhou City, Southwest China, between 2014 and 2022, with the aim of providing targeted fall prevention strategies for the elderly. METHODS: Mortality data were analyzed using the Joinpoint regression model to determine Annual Percent Change (APC) and Average Annual Percent Change (AAPC). An age-period-cohort model constructed in R 4.3.2 evaluated the influences of these dimensions on mortality trends. Our analysis focused on differences in trends between male and female elderly residents. RESULTS: The study included a total of 6,524 elderly people over 60 years old who died from falls. Both genders exhibited increasing mortality trends, with males showing an AAPC of 6.168% and females an AAPC of 6.3%. Notably, the risk of death from falls was significantly higher in older age groups, with males aged 80-84 showing more than double the risk compared to those aged 60-64. Similarly, females in the same age group had a 3.8-fold higher risk. The period analysis indicated a near doubling of risk from 2014 to 2022. No significant trends were observed in cohort effects. CONCLUSION: The mortality from falls among elderly residents in this study has shown a concerning upward trend from 2014 to 2022. The increased risk is particularly pronounced with advancing age and over recent years for both genders. These findings highlight the urgent need for enhanced fall prevention measures targeted at the elderly population to mitigate this growing public health issue.