More people are dying from falls. Could these common drugs be to blame? | BBC Science Focus Magazine

Taking a tumble isn't always deadly. But after road traffic accidents, it's the most common cause of death by accidental injury. Deaths from falls were dropping until recently – at least in higher-income countries like the US and the UK.

But since the 2010s, they’ve slowly crept back up, from 11 to 13 deaths per 100,000 between 2009 and 2021, according to one 2025 study across 59 countries.

Older people appear to be the most affected. In the US, for example, the number of over-85s dying after falls has tripled just since 2000.

Meanwhile, in England, the number of over-65s admitted to Accident & Emergency after a fall has climbed steadily from 185,000 in 2011 to 223,000 in 2021, suggesting that falls are happening more often. Whether they’re also more deadly isn’t clear.

While researchers are aware of this trend, the causes are still debated. Some scientists put it down partly to improvements in reporting.