81–90 of 97 posts
Would be interested to see a breakdown of what type of falls these are. Falls in bathrooms, outside or on ice?
Earlier quoted context omitted.
I imagine that would be one positive effect of endless entertainment being ubiquitous- since people can zone out in front of a screen with any entertainment medium of their choosing, they are less likely to opt for alcohol. Though interestingly, drunk driving fatalities are rising despite lowering alcohol consumption[1], even discounting the pandemic contriting large jumps up. So of the people that do drink, they're…
Anecdotally the drinking culture that existed for me in my youth has completely disappeared. House parties, a staple of my college years, are nonexistent. Talking to recent grads from the same school, their social life looks very different. I think this is connected to social media but in a different way. Young people are very aware that any deviant behavior will be recorded and posted. Also they are deathly afraid o…
If you are sharing facts like "Wisconsin falls are more deadly than Alabama falls", then you need to address the more obvious hypotheses that are conjured in the readers head. I found no mention of "ice" or "slippery", and instead the article blazed forward with its preferred explanation without providing evidence to dismiss the more obvious hypotheses.
Presumably because the Wisconsin-vs-Alabama differences have not significantly changed in the last few decades? Wisconsin has been a lot snowier than Alabama for a long time.
https://pbswisconsin.org/news-item/wisconsins-death-grip-wit...
As a side note, I've gotten my dad into dirtbiking for the first time at 65. He has padded shorts, and padding pants, and a padded shirt. He then wears my track leathers, even though he's on dirt. He's fallen a few times and he agrees you feel like superman. He's started joking that if he makes it to 75, he's going to start wearing the padded shorts and shirt as regular daily wear.
If I had to guess it would be people getting heavier, weaker, and more sedentary than the past.. making falls more likely. Also people seem to like hard flooring lately instead of carpet. Even backyards are getting more cemented by the decade.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
Your quoted paragraphs are not discussing the same trend, your first paragraph is referring to drinking habits in those 65 or older. The second paragraph is discussing drinking habits for all US adults.
I suppose so. But the leading line before their 5 points made it sound like they were trying to explain why the fall deaths were increasing regardless of age. > Why have deaths from falls, on an age-adjusted basis, risen? There are at least five possible reasons.
> Age-adjusted data helps to compare health data over time or between groups more fairly by accounting for the age differences in populations. For example, suppose Population A has a higher average age than Population B. In that case, age-adjusting ensures that Population A's naturally higher death rate due to age doesn't skew comparisons of overall health between the two. This measurement makes death statistic comparisons more accurate than crude death rates.
An "age group" might be "45-54" or "85+" but a "population" would be "all age groups in 2000" or "all age groups in 2023". Age-adjusted here means the differences in the number of people in each population (2000 vs 2023) are normalized to each so we can compare the absolute numbers from each age group directly, not the other way around.
There is some immediate follow-up text which helps clarify they do not mean to normalize the age groups themselves together within a single population for comparison:
> While they [population age-adjusted fall deaths] have fallen among younger people and only risen slightly among the middle aged, they have risen substantially within every age bracket of the elderly.
This all gave me flashbacks to stats class, and I now need to go relax :).
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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.
The stairs are probably your least likely place to fall. You have a railing. Getting out of the shower or slipping in the kitchen and catching the counter on the way down however…
As a side note, I've gotten my dad into dirtbiking for the first time at 65. He has padded shorts, and padding pants, and a padded shirt. He then wears my track leathers, even though he's on dirt. He's fallen a few times and he agrees you feel like superman. He's started joking that if he makes it to 75, he's going to start wearing the padded shorts and shirt as regular daily wear.
I have always thought once I get to a certain age I might just start wearing a helmet...everywhere when standing. It will look silly, but maybe it's not such a bad idea.
Earlier quoted context omitted.
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…
Yoga has balance poses and is much more accessible than rollerblading.