Trends of unintentional fall related death during 1987-2008 in Macheng city

Objective To assess the trends and characteristics of mortality due to unintentional fall during 1987-2008 in Macheng ctiy.Methods The data was from Macheng Injury Death Surveillance System.The mortality rates and proportion of death causes were calculated.Chi-square test was applied to analyze the statistical significance.Results The overall standard mortality rate of unintentional fall was 4.97/100 000.The males had 2.25 times higher mortality rate than the females(P< 0.001).The general trend of the mortality from 1987-2008 was descending (χ_cmh²=49.9,P< 0.001).The mortality rate increased with the age (χ_cmh²=850.4,P< 0.001).The proportion of fall death among injury deaths increased in the males(χ_cmh²=23.88,P< 0.001),but decreased in the females(χ_cmh²=10.17,P=0.037).People living in mountain area had a higher unintentional fall-related mortality rate than those living in hill and plain areas (χ²=223.52,P< 0.0001).Fall-related mortalities among different populations of 3 terrains declined from 1987 to 2008.(plain:χ_cmh²=60.86,P< 0.0001; hill:χ_cmh²=13.3,P=0.0099; mountain:χ_cmh²=55.84,P<.0001).Conclusion The impact of unintentional fall-related mortality was different among the residents of different age.Males,people older than 65 years and living in mountain area had the highest mortality rate.Interventions related to unintentional fall should be taken among populations at high risk.