One clear predictor of state-level differences in death rates from accidental falls is age. Maine and Vermont have the highest percentages of populations over the age of 65. And they rank second and third in death rates for falls.
Another state-level predictor of accidental fall death rates is wintry weather: eight of the 10 states with the highest age-adjusted rates are notably snowy.
Deaths are rising despite precautions
Before we get to some potential reasons that falls have risen, we are going to discuss some reasons we had to expect lower fall death rates. We will focus on trends among the elderly, since increases in fall deaths have been overwhelmingly driven by older age groups. Many factors, quite frankly, might have been expected to lead to a decrease in falls.
First, there have been large-scale efforts to improve awareness of the danger of falls and implement safety procedures. In 2007, the National Council in Aging started Falls Prevention Awareness Week . In 2012, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) launched STEADI (Stopping Elderly Accidents, Deaths, & Injuries) to provide healthcare professionals with tools to integrate fall prevention into their routine clinical practice.
Second, and relatedly, American homes have adopted guardrails to limit falls. According to the American Housing Survey, the percent of American homes with no-step entrances rose from 42.1% in 2007 to 56.3% in 2023 .