Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled? • Hacker News Board

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#41

Post by rossdavidh » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:41 PM UTC

havblue wrote: post #8

Aside from alcohol and obesity, I don't see: 1. Cancer survivability. If people aren't dying from cancer they will be more likely to die from a fall in a weakened state. 2. Two level homes are a higher percentage of new construction and people are more able to afford it when they're older. Edit: okay they did mention fewer deaths from other causes such as cancer and heart disease.

Fewer small (one-level) homes is an excellent point. Also a lot of old people used to live in trailer homes or mobile homes, which are also one-level.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#42

Post by rramadass » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:42 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #30

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #20

I would assume it is because of the extra distractions now. Everything becoming "smarter" and more addictive. How many were looking at their phones, hurrying back to catch the increasingly manipulative "news", or frustrated because their voice assistant didn't understand them? Since 2000 all of these things, and the amount of tech per household in general, have gone up quite a bit. I'm surprised it wasn't listed as a…

The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior. The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.

> the groups least likely to engage in that behavior.

Actually, the Elderly are even more hooked into technology and its distractions.

The Phone-Based Retirement Is Here - https://archive.ph/eieyI

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#43

Post by mothballed » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #36

netsharc wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is my first guess too. There's some stat that says more people die from falling while they try to frame a selfie compared to dying because of shark attacks... (Ok death by shark is actually quite rare)

The death rates increased 200% for 85+ year olds but deceased for people under 35.

I wonder if it's about 1/3 as easy to find an under 35 year old handyman as it was in the year 2000.

Since 2020 the price of maintaining anything in your house has exploded, coupled with dwindling value of fixed incomes, which has got to be getting a lot more old people up on ladders.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#44

Post by taeric » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:44 PM UTC

blakesterz wrote: post #4

I guess the hypothesis makes sense. They say it's probably Drugs, Alcohol, Obesity and Fourth, some of the increase may be due to changes in reporting. As people have become more aware of the danger of falls, falls that used to not be recorded as a cause of death may increasingly be reported as a cause.

Large changes almost always represent a change in reporting, don't they?

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#45

Post by dec0dedab0de » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:45 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #30

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #20

I would assume it is because of the extra distractions now. Everything becoming "smarter" and more addictive. How many were looking at their phones, hurrying back to catch the increasingly manipulative "news", or frustrated because their voice assistant didn't understand them? Since 2000 all of these things, and the amount of tech per household in general, have gone up quite a bit. I'm surprised it wasn't listed as a…

The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior. The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.

The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.

I would hope the article is better than the gut feeling of some random programmer commenting on hn before his standup.

The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior.

I must point out that the elders in my life are the most tech addicted people I know. They barely know how to use it, but they never put it down. Which means they are constantly struggling to get their fix. I saw this behavior 25 years ago doing tech support for a dial-up ISP, and it has become way more common since. To the point that the senior citizen posting nonsense on facebook, and forwarding email chains is a common trope.

Again, I'm sure the article is doing better research than my personal experience, I was just surprised it wasn't mentioned.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#46

Post by dxdm » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:46 PM UTC

meindnoch wrote: post #16

This might be evidence that the gravitational constant G is changing (increasing) over time! Could this be the explanation for dark matter and dark energy?

This would also explain why my bathroom scale has been showing larger and larger numbers to me! Genius. I'd say you're onto something, but I can't tell if you're also joking.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#47

Post by fellowniusmonk » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:49 PM UTC

rossdavidh wrote: post #39

rob74 wrote: post #19

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Occam's razor says it's less likely that the gravitational constant is increasing and more likely that the ability to withstand the pull of gravity decreases with age.

Article says age-adjusted fall rates are up substantially, so it's not just older population.

People rollerblade less.

I read that fall injuries in the elderly are a significant contributor to both death and drops in quality of life.

When it comes to proprioception and balance one group of people over 60 seem to have equivalent balance to younger people and that is certain kinds of rollerbladers.

So as a person who was relatively active (40mi+ per week biking and other things) I started rollerblading and it's been unbelievable, I'm older and certain types of movements that take 8yr olds a couple weeks to learn took me nearly a year, it's absolutely amazing though, pain and soreness in parts of my leg and feet all related to stabilization, significantly strengthened stabilization muscles and improved reaction times at speed. I figure if I can rollerblade on one foot at 15 miles an hour, walking with both feet at 3 should be no problem.

I put rollerblading and bouldering as my top two 'puzzle' based activities.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#48

Post by kube-system » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:50 PM UTC

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #45

kube-system wrote: post #30

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior. The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.

The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label. I would hope the article is better than the gut feeling of some random programmer commenting on hn before his standup. The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior. I must point out t…

Elderly people scroll facebook while sitting down, not while walking around... especially if they are of the physical condition where a fall at grade would kill them.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#49

Post by dec0dedab0de » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:54 PM UTC

mothballed wrote: post #43

kube-system wrote: post #36

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The death rates increased 200% for 85+ year olds but deceased for people under 35.

I wonder if it's about 1/3 as easy to find an under 35 year old handyman as it was in the year 2000. Since 2020 the price of maintaining anything in your house has exploded, coupled with dwindling value of fixed incomes, which has got to be getting a lot more old people up on ladders.

I almost mentioned that too, but I thought I was going to expose myself for being bad at maintaining my house.

Going down the same line of thought, how many people are attempting DIY repairs that they never would have before because of youtube and other resources? I know that I have done way more work on my home than my parents or grandparents ever did.

Re: Why have death rates from accidental falls tripled?

#50

Post by rawgabbit » Tue, Jan 13, 2026, 2:54 PM UTC

kube-system wrote: post #30

dec0dedab0de wrote: post #20

I would assume it is because of the extra distractions now. Everything becoming "smarter" and more addictive. How many were looking at their phones, hurrying back to catch the increasingly manipulative "news", or frustrated because their voice assistant didn't understand them? Since 2000 all of these things, and the amount of tech per household in general, have gone up quite a bit. I'm surprised it wasn't listed as a…

The increase was greatest in the groups least likely to engage in that behavior. The hypotheses in the article are much stronger. To me, the increasing use of mind altering drugs in geriatric care is an obvious contributor... so much so that these drugs list that risk on the label.

Anecdotally, several of my extended family are now on SSRIs because it helps alleviates their pain from rheumatoid arthritis. My mom in particular often complains about fainting; if I was taking similar high dosages of painkillers, SSRIs, and other drugs targeting the nervous system I would faint too.