title: In-hospital mortality and unintentional falls among older adults in the United States.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To estimate the odds of death associated with documented unintentional falls and acute care hospitalization among older adults in the United States.
  
  
  METHODS
  Data were abstracted from the 2005 Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) and odds of death were modeled using logistic regression.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The age 65 and older fall rate per 1,000 discharges was 53.0 while the mortality rate for those who fell was 33.2. Older-old (odds ration [OR] = 2.93; confidence interval [CI] = [2.50, 3.43]), men (OR = 1.64, CI = [1.54, 1.75]), and non-White (OR = 1.09; CI = [1.01, 1.19]) had higher odds of death compared to younger-old, women, and Whites. Additional comorbidity (OR = 3.41, CI = [3.05, 3.82]), dehydration (OR = 1.14; CI = [1.05, 1.25]) and intracranial fractures (OR = 4.46; CI = [4.02, 4.95]) resulted in greater odds of death.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Among older adults who experienced a fall and hospitalization, odds of mortality appear influenced by factors beyond injury severity related to falling. Additional research is necessary to delineate the mechanisms behind these phenomena to inform the public about falls-prevention programs.
authors.affiliation: Texas A&M Health Science Center, School of Rural Public Health, Department of Health Policy and Management, Program in Aging, Disability, and Long-Term Care Policy.
authors.forename: Darcy K McMaughan
authors.initials: DK
authors.lastname: Moudouni
authors.forename: Charles D
authors.initials: CD
authors.lastname: Phillips
mesh_terms: D000058:Accidental Falls / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D015897:Comorbidity; D016208:Databases, Factual; D005260:Female; D017052:Hospital Mortality; D006760:Hospitalization; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D044469:Racial Groups / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017678:Sex Distribution; D012887:Skull Fractures / Q000401:mortality; D014481:United States / Q000453:epidemiology
keywords: HCUP; NIS; Older adults; fall mortality; hospitalization