Group fitness instructor Kaye Benson leads a 55+ Fit For Life class July 29 at the Chanhassen Recreation Center. (Anthony Souffle/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
More than 14 million Americans age 65 and older — about 1 in 4 — report falling each year, according to the CDC. Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among those 65 and older.
And the fall death rate is increasing. In 2012, the national rate was 55.3 per 100,000 older adults. By 2021, the rate increased 41% to 78 per 100,000.
Preliminary national data from 2024 shows fatalities ranging from 3,400 to 3,900 per month in 2024 — slightly higher than in 2023 and significantly higher than 2018.
With Wisconsin and Minnesota leading the pack, could ice and snow explain the higher number of deaths from falls? It’s not that clear-cut. The next eight states on the 2021 fall death list were South Dakota, West Virginia, Colorado, Oklahoma, Vermont, Maine, Oregon and Rhode Island. Alabama had the lowest rate of fatalities due to falls with 31 per 100,000, while Alaska had the lowest number, at 59.
Officials point to a number of factors for the doubling of deaths from falls in Minnesota between 2000 and 2021.
Kari Gloppen, an injury prevention program specialist with the state Department of Health, said in an email that research “has shown that increases in physical inactivity and social isolation (particularly during the COVID-19 pandemic) contributed to increased risk of falling.”
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