Sex-, age- and season-specific variations in accidental deaths from stumbling falls, bathtub drowning, food choking and traffic injuries among older adults in Japan.

Abstract

Aim: The aim of this study was to identify opportunities for more effective measures. We analyzed sex-, age- and season-specific trends in unintentional accidental deaths from stumbling falls, bathtub drowning, food choking and traffic injuries among older adults in Japan.

Methods: Death rates from major unintentional accidents were analyzed by sex, month and 5-year age groups (aged ≥50 years) based on a custom-made aggregation of data from the Vital Statistics survey (2008-2022) in compliance with the Statistics Act.

Results: From 2008 to 2022, death rates from the 4 major unintentional accidental causes (11 354 and 11 374 deaths in 19 408 000 men and 24 272 000 women aged ≥60 in 2022) were obviously higher among older men than older women, except for notably high death rates from bathtub drowning among women aged 75-84 years. Significant increases in death rates from stumbling falls were observed in men and women aged ≥85 years, with significant decreases among men aged 60-74 years and women aged 65-74 years. Significant increases in bathtub drowning death rates were observed among men aged 90-94 and ≥100 years, as well as among women aged 90-99 years. Bathtub drowning death rates rose with age but peaked in women aged 85-89 years. Both bathtub drowning and food choking deaths were more frequent during the winter season.

Conclusions: Accidental deaths from stumbling falls and bathtub drowning continue to rise among older Japanese adults in some age groups. Notably, deaths from bathtub drowning were distinctively higher among women aged in their 70s and 80s, possibly including apparently healthy women, during the winter season. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2025; ••: ••-••.