ArticleInternational journal of legal medicine2018
Fatal falls in the elderly and the presence of proximal femur fractures.
Article in International journal of legal medicine, 2018. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 27 citations in OpenAlex.
- Square-Stepping Exercise Program Effects on Fall-Related Fitness and BDNF Levels in Older Adults in Korea: A Randomized Controlled Trial.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Trial
- Risk factors for falls among older adults in China: a cross-sectional study.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Association between maximal lower leg strength and static and dynamic balance as well as gait velocity in older adults.Frontiers in aging · 2026Article
- Fracture Patterns in Fatal Free Falls: A Systematic Review of Intrinsic and Extrinsic Risk Factors and the Role of Postmortem CT.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- FPG Score: A Rapid Admission-Based Tool for Predicting In-Hospital Mortality in Elderly Hip Fracture Patients.Orthopaedic surgery · 2025Observational
- The characteristics and risk factors of fatal falls among adults aged 60 and above in Southwest China.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Influence of history of falls and physical function on obstacle-straddling behavior.Journal of physical therapy science · 2023Article
- The mortality trends of falls among the elderly adults in the mainland of China, 2013-2020: A population-based study through the National Disease Surveillance Points system.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2022Article
- Screening tool for identification of hip fractures in the prehospital setting.OTA international : the open access journal of orthopaedic trauma · 2021Article
- Cost-effectiveness of group-based exercise to prevent falls in elderly community-dwelling people.BMC geriatrics · 2021Article
- Article
- The Effects of Physical Exercise on Balance and Prevention of Falls in Older People: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.Journal of clinical medicine · 2020Review
- Article
- The "Elderly" in Medicine: Ethical Issues Surrounding This Outdated and Discriminatory Term.Inquiry : a journal of medical care organization, provision and financingArticle
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Fatal falls are frequent and seem to be an increasing problem in the elderly. Especially ground level falls (GLFs) and falls on or from stairs and steps (stairs falls) are worth examining for forensic classification and in order to improve the development of preventive measures. We retrospectively analyzed 261 fatal falls of elderly age 65 + years, which were autopsied at the Institute of Legal Medicine in Munich between 2008 and 2014. After careful screening, the sub-set of all 77 GLFs and 39 stairs falls were analyzed towards socio-demographic characteristics, fall circumstances, injuries, and circumstances of death. A subsequent analysis of GLF cases regarding the presence of proximal femur fractures (PFF) was performed. The injury pattern of the GLFs and the stairs falls clearly differ with a higher share of injuries to the lower extremities in the GLFs. However, the most severely injured body region was the head in both groups (62% of the stairs cases, 49% of the GLF cases). Alcohol as contributing to the fall was seen more frequently in the stairs falls. PFF were not seen in the stairs falls, but then in 18 GLF cases. Yet, for 17 among them (22% of 77), their hip fracture was the only serious injury leading to hospitalization and death. Only one GLF case was already found dead. This finding indicates a potential of avoiding up to 22% of the GLF fatalities by preventing hip fractures by optimized hip protectors or other measures, especially for the elderly aged 75 + years.
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