Hospitalizations and hospital costs due to falls in Brazilian elderly

Abstract

Aims: to verify the number and causes of hospitalizations for falls in Brazilian elderly, in addition to the federal expenses of the Unified Health System (SUS), in the period from 2000 to 2018. Methods: this is an ecological study, using information available in the database of the SUS Department of Informatics. Data were collected from elderly (≥60 years) who were admitted to SUS due to falls in the period from 2000 to 2018 in Brazil. The number of hospitalizations in the country and in the regions (North, Northeast, South, Southeast and Midwest), the causes of falls (International Statistical Classification of Diseases and Related Health Problems - 10) and the amount of federal spending were extracted. For statistical purposes, descriptive analysis was used. Results: there were 1.48 million hospitalizations for falls in the elderly in Brazil, with a rate of 38.6 per 10, 000. The main causes of these records in DATASUS were "falls without specifications", "other falls on the same level" and "falls on the same level due to slips, trips or false steps". Regarding the locations, the elderly belonging to the Southeast (47.1), South (44.1) and Midwest (40.4) regions were those who had the highest median hospitalization rates for falls in the analysed period. However, the Northeast (variation%=0.4), the South (variation%=0.2) and the Midwest (variation%=0.2) showed greater increases in this indicator over the age of 18, while only the North region showed a reduction (variation%=-0.5). The median federal hospital expenses (million) was R$135.58, ranging from R$112.89 to R$194.98. Conclusions: there was an increase in hospitalization rates due to falls in the elderly in SUS, in almost all federative units. The most frequent causes were "falls without specifications", "other falls on the same level" and "falls on the same level due to slips, trips or false steps". In addition, there was an increase in federal hospital spending over the period in the country.