title: Increased fall-related mortality rates in New Mexico, 1999-2005.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  In 2000, fall injuries affected 30% of U.S. residents aged ≥65 years and cost $19 billion. In 2005, New Mexico (NM) had the highest fall-related mortality rate in the United States. We described factors associated with these elevated fall-related mortality rates.
  
  
  METHODS
  To better understand the epidemiology of fatal falls in NM, we used state and national (Web-based Injury Statistics Query and Reporting System) vital records data for 1999-2005 to identify unintentional falls that were the underlying cause of death. We calculated age-adjusted mortality rates, rate ratios (RRs), and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) by sex, ethnicity, race, and year.
  
  
  RESULTS
  For 1999-2005 combined, NM's fall-related mortality rate (11.7 per 100,000 population) was 2.1 times higher than the U.S. rate (5.6 per 100,000 population). Elevated RRs persisted when stratified by sex (male RR=2.0, female RR=2.2), ethnicity (Hispanic RR=2.5, non-Hispanic RR=2.1), race (white RR=2.0, black RR=1.7, American Indian RR=2.3, and Asian American/Pacific Islander RR=3.1), and age (≥50 years RR=2.0, <50 years RR=1.2). Fall-related mortality rates began to increase exponentially at age 50 years, which was 15 years younger than the national trend. NM non-Hispanic individuals had the highest demographic-specific fall-related mortality rate (11.8 per 100,000 population, 95% CI 11.0, 12.5). NM's 69.5% increase in fall-related mortality rate was approximately twice the U.S. increase (31.9%); the increase among non-Hispanic people (86.2%) was twice that among Hispanic people (43.5%).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  NM's fall-related mortality rate was twice the U.S. rate; exhibited a greater increase than the U.S. rate; and persisted across sex, ethnicity, and race. Fall-related mortality disproportionately affects a relatively younger population in NM. Characterizing fall etiology will assist in the development of effective prevention measures.
authors: New Mexico Department of Health, Sante Fe, NM, USA. aaron-wendelboe@ouhsc.edu
authors: Aaron M
authors: AM
authors: Wendelboe
authors: Michael G
authors: MG
authors: Landen
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000401:mortality* / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002423:Cause of Death / Q000639:trends*; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009516:New Mexico / Q000453:epidemiology; D017678:Sex Distribution; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult