Table 2.
Injury severity of 1,172 falls by age, gender, location, attributed cause, activity and direction of the fall
| Injury severity* | ||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| None | Mild | Moderate or severe | Total | |||||
| N = 782 | (%)** | N = 301 | (%) | N = 89 | (%) | N = 1172 | (%) | |
| Age group | ||||||||
| 65–74 | 316 | (40.4) | 100 | (33.2) | 19 | (21.4) | 435 | (37.1) |
| 75–84 | 333 | (42.6) | 144 | (47.8) | 38 | (43.8) | 515 | (43.9) |
| ≥85 | 133 | (17.0) | 57 | (18.9) | 31 | (34.8) | 221 | (18.9) |
| Gender | ||||||||
| Men | 386 | (49.4) | 104 | (34.6) | 22 | (24.7) | 512 | (43.7) |
| Women | 396 | (50.6) | 197 | (65.5) | 67 | (75.3) | 660 | (56.3) |
| Location | ||||||||
| Outside | 197 | (25.2) | 82 | (27.2) | 30 | (33.7) | 309 | (26.4) |
| In a public building | 57 | (7.3) | 21 | (7.0) | 2 | (2.3) | 80 | (6.8) |
| Inside the home | 528 | (67.5) | 198 | (65.8) | 57 | (64.0) | 783 | (66.8) |
| Activity | ||||||||
| Walking | 214 | (27.4) | 80 | (26.6) | 27 | (30.3) | 321 | (27.4) |
| Standing up | 100 | (12.8) | 25 | (8.3) | 8 | (9.0) | 133 | (11.3) |
| Stepping up or down (stairs/step/curb/ladder/stepstool) | 55 | (7.0) | 38 | 12.6 | 7 | (7.9) | 100 | (8.5) |
| Reaching or leaning | 61 | (7.8) | 12 | (4.0) | 4 | (4.5) | 77 | (6.6) |
| Turning or changing direction | 48 | (6.1) | 20 | (6.6) | 6 | (6.7) | 74 | (6.3) |
| Bending or pushing | 37 | (4.7) | 9 | (3.0) | 3 | (3.4) | 49 | (4.2) |
| Other specified | 212 | (27.2) | 102 | (33.9) | 26 | (29.2) | 340 | (29.0) |
| Not specified | 55 | (7.0) | 15 | (5.0) | 8 | (9.0) | 78 | (6.7) |
| Direction of the fall | ||||||||
| Forward | 327 | (41.8) | 133 | (44.2) | 36 | (40.5) | 496 | (42.3) |
| Sideways | 134 | (17.1) | 86 | (28.6) | 20 | (22.5) | 240 | (20.5) |
| Backward to sitting | 174 | (22.3) | 27 | (9.0) | 5 | (5.6) | 206 | (17.6) |
| Backward and landing flat | 71 | (9.1) | 39 | (13.0) | 12 | (13.5) | 122 | (10.4) |
| Straight down | 17 | (2.2) | 2 | (0.7) | 2 | (2.3) | 21 | (1.8) |
| Other specified | 12 | (1.5) | 1 | (0.3) | 0 | 0 | 13 | (1.1) |
| Not specified | 47 | (6.0) | 13 | (4.3) | 14 | (15.7) | 74 | (6.3) |
| Attributed cause | ||||||||
| Lost balance, unsteady or wobbly | 259 | (33.1) | 87 | (28.9) | 23 | (25.8) | 369 | (31.5) |
| Trip, caught foot, clumsy or tangled feet | 208 | (26.6) | 100 | (33.2) | 26 | (29.2) | 334 | (28.5) |
| Slip | 69 | (8.8) | 23 | (7.6) | 8 | (9.0) | 100 | (8.5) |
| Legs or hip gave out, rubbery legs or leg weakness | 64 | (8.2) | 17 | (5.7) | 4 | (4.5) | 85 | (7.3) |
| Other specified | 96 | (12.3) | 45 | (15.0) | 13 | (14.6) | 154 | (13.1) |
| Not specified | 86 | (11.0) | 29 | (9.6) | 15 | (16.9) | 130 | (11.1) |
*Mild: Reported injury but did not seek treatment; Moderate: Sought medical care for injuries excluding head injuries and fractures; Severe: Sought medical care for head injuries and fractures.
**Rounding may result in totals slightly over or under 100%.