Fall-related injuries in the elderly in Tehran

During 13 months of data gathering, all injury-related information concerning trauma patients was gathered according to International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision (ICD-10). The severity of the injury was calculated according to Abbreviated Injury Scale (AIS-90) in six major university hospitals in Tehran. Twelve percent of 8000 hospitalised trauma patients were elderly (65 years or older) and 70% of them (675 patients) had suffered from fall-related injuries. Falling on the ground and falling on stairs were the most common kinds of injury (with 462 (68%) and 122 (18%) cases, respectively). In the home and on the street were the most common sites of fall occurrence (with 520 cases (77%) and 91 cases (13.5%), respectively). After adjustment for the gender, kind of fall and Injury Severity Score, it was shown that the elderly were more prone to death than their younger counterparts (odds ratio = 5.8, 95% Cl for odds ratio: 2.3-7.2), but there was no significant difference in mortality rate between elderly men and women. Further studies are needed to evaluate personal and environmental risk factors for falls in our population. Furthermore, significantly higher mortality rate in our elderly trauma victims necessitates prudent attention to elderly trauma care in our teaching hospitals. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.