(New York Times) – Some researchers suspect that rising prescription drug use may explain a disturbing trend.

In 2023, the most recent year of data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 41,000 Americans over 65 died from falls, an opinion article in JAMA Health Forum pointed out last month.

More startling than that figure, though, was another statistic: Fall-related mortality among older adults has been climbing sharply.

The author, Dr. Thomas Farley, an epidemiologist, reported that death rates from fall injuries among Americans over 65 had more than tripled over the past 30 years. Among those over 85, the cohort at highest risk, death rates from falls jumped to 339 per 100,000 in 2023, from 92 per 100,000 in 1990.

The culprit, in his view, is Americans’ reliance on prescription drugs. (Read More)