Falls

Introduction

Falls are a significant cause of morbidity and mortality, especially in older adults. Nationally in 2022–23, falls were the most common form of injury hospitalisations, with more than three times the number of hospitalisations than Contact with objects, which was the second most common cause.¹

This section reports on fall-related injury hospitalisations and deaths. Fall injuries treated in other settings or that went untreated are excluded, so results presented here underestimate the population-level impacts of fall injuries.

For information about the health burden and expenditure due to injuries, please see the injury introductory page.

Hospitalisations

In 2022–23, the age-standardised hospitalisation rate (ASR or standardised rate) for falls was 10.6 per 1,000 persons in Queensland (Figure 1).

Demographic differences

Hospitalisation rates for fall-related injuries in Queensland varied by demographic characteristic and typically increased markedly with increasing age. In 2022–23, hospitalisation rates for falls (Figure 1):

• for females was 6.7% higher than for males (standardised rate 10.2 and 10.8 per 1,000, respectively)
• increased sharply in older age groups—ranging from 32.0 per 1,000 persons for adults 65 to 84 years to 152.8 per 1,000 persons for adults 85 years and older
• were higher in females—the highest age-specific rate was for females 85 years and older (161.7 per 1,000).

Falls hospitalisations did not show a consistent association with remoteness, although a modest increase with increasing socioeconomic disadvantage was observed.

Figure 1: Queensland hospitalisations rates for falls, 2022–23

Trends

For a description of the approach to trend analysis, please see the All Injuries section in this report and methodological information in the About this Report section.

Changes in clinical coding systems and admission practices, especially after the implementation of the Ninth Edition of the The International Statistical Classification for Diseases and Health Problems, Tenth Revision, Australian Modification (ICD-10-AM), from July 2015, as well as potential multiple patient episodes for a single injury due to hospital transfers and rehabilitation, effect comparability over time.² The changes introduced in this Edition have increased the number of rehabilitation episodes to be assigned with the underlying condition necessitating the rehabilitation as the principal diagnosis (a diagnosis that was deemed chiefly responsible for the admission), rather than recording rehabilitation as the principal diagnosis. This would have more implications for older age groups and for conditions more prevalent in older population, such as falls and stroke.

When looking at the change in hospitalisation rates from 2015–16 to 2022–23, trends had remained steady over time.

Figure 2: Trends in Queensland hospitalisations due to falls

National comparisons

Based on the national report using the National Morbidity Database, in 2022–23, Queensland had the 2nd highest hospitalisation rates for falls, after Northern Territory, and had higher hospitalisation rates than Australia overall.¹

Mortality

In 2022, the Queensland standardised mortality rate for falls was 16.9 per 100,000 persons (Figure 3).

Demographic differences

In 2022, Queensland mortality rates due to falls differed by sex and age (Figure 3):

• The standardised mortality rate for falls in males was 25.2% higher than in females (19.0 and 15.2 per 100,000, respectively).
• Standardised mortality rates increased sharply with age, with the highest age-specific mortality rate in males 85 years and older (762.0 per 100,000 persons).

There was little difference in falls mortality based on socioeconomic status and remoteness (Figure 3). While mortality in major cities was higher than in regional areas, there was no evidence of a significant difference.

Figure 3: Queensland mortality rate due to falls, 2022

Trends

Among Queenslanders, there was a modest increase in falls mortality rates for males from 2002 to 2022 (Figure 4).

Figure 4: Trends in Queensland mortality due to falls

National comparisons

Based on the national report using the National Mortality Database, in 2021–22, Queensland had the 6th highest mortality rates for falls, and had lower mortality rates than Australia overall.¹

Additional information

Visit the following websites for more information about fall-related injuries:

• Queensland Health Queensland stay on your feet
• Australian Commission on Safety and Quality in Health Care Falls prevention
• Australian Institute of Health and Welfare Injury in Australia

Section technical notes

ASpR refers to age-specific rates.

APC refers to annual percentage change.

Where presented, ratios were calculated using higher precision estimates than in text. Ratios calculated using estimates in text may differ.

Age-standardised rates were calculated by standardising to 2001 Australian standard population.

ICD code groups have changed since the initial CHO report release to better align with other national reports and datasets noting that some differences remain including a subset that AIHW reapportions to jurisdiction of residence. Definitional changes have been applied to all years of data in the time series. See additional information under About this Report.

Hospitalisation data reported in this section were sourced from the Queensland Hospital Admitted Patient Data Collection (QHAPDC). The QHAPDC is episode based, meaning that multiple episodes from a single person will be counted in a reporting period. Separations from interstate residents, public psychiatric hospitals, and those flagged as unqualified newborns, organ donors or boarders are excluded. Due to the definitions used, the statistics presented here may not be comparable to other reports. See additional information under About this Report.

Mortality data presented in this section were sourced from the Australian Coordinating Registry held by the Statistical Services Branch, Queensland Health. Data are presented by year of death, rather than year of registration and are subject to change. Data excludes death of Queensland residents registered outside of Queensland. Data for remoteness and SEIFA excludes records that could not be clearly mapped to an Australian Statistical Geography Standard version.