Journal of Preventive Medicine and Public Health

Original Articles

Stage-specific Healthcare Burden of Fall-related Injuries Among Older Adults in Korea: Minseok Kim, Taekwon Kim, Kyungsub Song, Sang-hun Lee, Jonghoon Yoo; J Prev Med Public Health. 2026;59(4):403-410. Published online June 22, 2026; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.26.053

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Abstract Summary PDF Supplementary Material: Objectives
This study aimed to describe the distribution of fall-related injury burden across healthcare stages and age groups in Korea, with particular emphasis on differences between young-old adults (aged 65–74 years) and old-old adults (aged ≥75 years).
Methods
Using the 14th Korea National Injury Statistics Report (2022), we analyzed data on fall-related injuries from 5 national sources: the 119 Emergency Medical Services Registry, the National Emergency Department Information System (NEDIS), the Korea National Hospital Discharge In-depth Injury Survey, the Severe Trauma Survey, and cause-of-death statistics. Five age groups (0–6, 7–18, 19–64, 65–74, and ≥75 years) were defined according to the original classifications used in the data sources. Age-specific crude rates were calculated using mid-year population denominators from Statistics Korea.
Results
Emergency department (ED) visit rates were highest among children aged 0–6 years (2312/100 000) and adults aged ≥75 years (2121/100 000). Despite comparable ED visit rates, the within-NEDIS ED admission rate increased from 2.6% among children aged 0–6 years to 42.9% among adults aged ≥75 years. The hospitalization rate among adults aged ≥75 years (4852/100 000) was 2.6 times higher than that among adults aged 65–74 years (1832/100 000). Among adults aged ≥75 years, the mortality rate was 32.5/100 000, and this age group accounted for 45.4% of all fall-related deaths.
Conclusions
Fall-related injury burden among adults aged ≥75 years was disproportionately concentrated at the hospitalization and mortality stages. These findings suggest that fall prevention strategies for aging populations should consider the downstream burden beyond ED visits.; Summary

Korean summary
본 연구는 2022년 국가손상종합통계를 활용하여 한국 노인의 낙상 관련 손상 부담을 응급실 방문·입원·사망 등 의료단계별로 분석하였다. 75세 이상 초고령 노인에서 부담이 입원과 사망 단계에 불균형적으로 집중되었으며, 응급실 방문률이 유사한 연령대라도 입원 전환율과 사망률은 크게 높았다. 따라서 노인 낙상 예방 전략은 응급실 방문을 넘어 입원·사망 등 후속 단계의 부담까지 함께 고려할 필요가 있다.

Key Message
Using 5 national data sources for 2022, this study shows that the burden of fall-related injuries in older Korean adults is concentrated at the hospitalization and mortality stages rather than at the emergency department (ED) visit stage. Although adults aged ≥75 years and young children had comparable ED visit rates, the oldest adults had far higher admission, hospitalization, and mortality rates, with a steep increase after age 75. Fall-prevention strategies for aging populations should therefore look beyond ED visits and address the downstream inpatient and mortality burden.

The Effect of Sleep Duration on the Risk of Unintentional Injury in Korean Adults: Yeon-Yong Kim, Un-Na Kim, Jin-Seok Lee, Jong-Heon Park; J Prev Med Public Health. 2014;47(3):150-157. Published online May 30, 2014; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2014.47.3.150

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Objectives

The decrease or increase in sleep duration has recently been recognized as a risk factor for several diseases, including hypertension and obesity. Many studies have explored the relationship of decreased sleep durations and injuries, but few have examined the relationship between increased sleep duration and injury. The objective of this research is to identify the risk for injury associated with both decreased and increased sleep durations.

Methods

Data from the 2010 Community Health Survey were used in this study. We conducted logistic regression with average sleep duration as the independent variable, injury as a dependent variable, and controlling for age, sex, occupation, education, region (cities and provinces), smoking, alcohol use, body mass index, hypertension, diabetes, arthritis, and depression. Seven categories of sleep duration were established: ≤4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and ≥10 hours.

Results

Using 7 hours of sleep as the reference, the adjusted injury risk (odds ratio) for those sleeping a total of ≤4 h/d was 1.53; 1.28 for 5 hours, for 1.11 for 6 hours, 0.98 for 8 hours, 1.12 for 9 hours, and 1.48 for ≥10 hours. The difference in risk was statistically significant for each category except for the 8 and 9 hours. In this study, risk increased as the sleep duration decreased or increased, except for the 8 and 9 hours.

Conclusions

This research found that either a decrease or increase in sleep duration was associated with an increased risk for injury. The concept of proper sleep duration can be evaluated by its associated injury risk.

Summary

Citations

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Effect of Preexisting Musculoskeletal Diseases on the 1-Year Incidence of Fall-related Injuries: Won Kyung Lee, Kyoung Ae Kong, Hyesook Park; J Prev Med Public Health. 2012;45(5):283-290. Published online September 28, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2012.45.5.283

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Abstract PDF

Objectives

People who have chronic diseases, as well as gait imbalance or psychiatric drug use, may be susceptible to injuries from falls and slips. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of musculoskeletal diseases on incidental fall-related injuries among adults in Korea.

Methods

We analyzed data from the 4th Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2007-2009), which are national data obtained by a rolling survey sampling method. The 1-year incidence of fall-related injuries was defined by health service utilization within the last year due to injury occurring after a slip and fall, and musculoskeletal diseases included osteoarthritis, rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, and back pain. To evaluate the effects of preexisting musculoskeletal diseases, adults diagnosed before the last year were considered the exposed group, and adults who had never been diagnosed were the unexposed group.

Results

The weighted lifetime prevalence of musculoskeletal disease was 32 540 per 100 000 persons. Musculoskeletal diseases were associated with a higher risk of fall-related injury after adjustment for sex, age, residence, household income, education, occupation, visual disturbance, paralysis due to stroke, and medication for depression (odds ratio [OR], 1.41; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.03 to 1.93). As the number of comorbid musculoskeletal diseases increased, the risk of fall-induced injuries increased (p-value for trend <0.001). In particular, patients who had any musculoskeletal condition were at much higher risk of recurrent fall-related injuries (OR, 6.20; 95% CI, 1.06 to 36.08).

Conclusions

One must take into account the risk of fall-related injuries and provide prevention strategies among adults who have musculoskeletal diseases.

Summary

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Health Conditions Sensitive to Retirement and Job Loss Among Korean Middle-aged and Older Adults: Susan Park, Sung-Il Cho, Soong-Nang Jang; J Prev Med Public Health. 2012;45(3):188-195. Published online May 31, 2012; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2012.45.3.188

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Abstract PDF

Objectives

This study was conducted to examine the association between health condition and leaving the labor market among middle-aged and older adults in South Korea.

Methods

Data was obtained from individuals aged 45 years and older participating in the 2006 and 2008 Korean Longitudinal Study of Ageing. We used various health measures including chronic diseases, comorbidities, traffic accident injuries, disabilit of instrumental activities of daily living, depressive symptoms, and self-rated health. The odds ratios of job loss, and retirement, versus employment were calculated using multinomial logistic regression by each health measure.

Results

In our cross-sectional and longitudinal analysis, health problems related to physical disabilities had the greatest effect on leaving the worksite. A shift in health condition from good to poor in a short period was a predictor of increased risk of unemployment but a persistent pattern of health problems was not associated with unemployment. Women with health problems showed a high probability of retirement, whereas among men, health problems instantly the possibility of both job loss and retirement.

Conclusions

Health problems of middle aged and older workers were crucial risk factors for retirement and involuntarily job loss. Especially functional defect and recent health problems strongly and instanty affected employment status.

Summary

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English Abstract

Patterns of Unintentional Domestic Injuries in Korea.: Eun Jung Lee, Jin Seok Lee, Yoon Kim, Kunhee Park, Sang Jun Eun, Soo Kyung Suh, Yong Ik Kim; J Prev Med Public Health. 2010;43(1):84-92.; DOI: https://doi.org/10.3961/jpmph.2010.43.1.84

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Abstract PDF

OBJECTIVES
To investigate the patterns of unintentional home injuries in Korea. METHODS: The study population was 12,382,088 people who utilized National Health Insurance services due to injuries (main diagnosis codes S00 to T28) during 2006. Stratified samples(n=459,501) were randomly selected by sex, age group and severity of injury. A questionnaire was developed based on the International Classification of External Causes of Injury and 18,000 cases surveyed by telephone were analyzed after being projected into population proportionately according to the response rates of their strata. Domestic injury cases were finally included. RESULTS: Domestic injuries (n=3,804) comprised 21.1% of total daily life injuries during 2006. Women were vulnerable to home injuries, with the elderly and those of lower income (medical-aid users) tending to suffer more severe injuries. Injury occurred most often due to a slipping fall (33.9%), overexertion (15.3%), falling (9.5%) and stumbling (9.4%), with severe injury most often resulting from slipping falls, falls and stumbles. Increasing age correlated with domestic injury-related disability. CONCLUSIONS: The present findings provide basic information for development of home injury prevention strategies, with focus on the elderly.

Summary

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