Fall-induced hospital-treated traumatic brain injuries among elderly Finns in 1970-2017.

Background: Fall-induced traumatic brain injuries (TBI) of elderly adults are a major public health concern.

Methods: We determined the current trends in the absolute number and incidence (per 100,000 persons) of severe fall-induced TBI among 80-year-old or older Finns by taking into account all persons who were admitted to Finnish hospitals for primary treatment of such injury between 1970 and 2017.

Results: The total number of hospitalized older Finns with a fall-induced TBI increased considerably between the years 1970 and 2017, from 60 (women) and 25 (men) in 1970 to 1622 (women) and 991 (men) in 2017. The age-adjusted incidence of TBI (per 100,000 persons) also showed a clear increase from 1970 to 2017: from 167.9 to 800.4 in women (377% increase), and from 176.8 to 927.3 in men (424% increase). If this trend in the age-adjusted incidence of hospital-treated TBI continues, and the size of the 80-year-old or older Finnish population increases as predicted (from 0.29 million in 2017 to 0.49 million in 2030), the number of these severe injuries among 80-year-old or older Finns will be approximately 1.8 times higher in 2030 (4811 injuries) compared with 2613 injuries in 2017.

Conclusions: The number and age-adjusted incidence of fall-induced hospital-treated TBI among elderly Finns increased considerably between 1970 and 2017. Wide-scale fall and injury prevention measures are urgently needed, because further aging of the population is likely to worsen the problem in the near future.