As a leading cause of fatal and nonfatal injury in the U.S. and Massachusetts, falls remain an area of focus for the healthy aging community in terms of prevention and reducing health care costs. The Massachusetts Department of Public Health (DPH) recently issued a Data Brief to update data on fatal and nonfatal fall-related injuries.

The full brief is available here, and some selected data points include the following:

• In 2014, 528 Massachusetts residents ages 65 and older died and 71,068 nonfatal unintentional fall-related injuries were treated at hospitals and emergency departments.
• Projected lifetime costs associated with fall injuries4 among MA residents ages 65 and older are estimated to be $1.9 billion.
• In 2014, 28.6% of Massachusetts adults ages 65 and older reported having fallen and 10.6% reported a fall-related injury in the past 12 months.