http://www.reuters.com/article/us-health-injuries-stairs/injuries-on-stairs-occur-in-all-age-groups-and-abilities-idUSKBN1CE1Z4?feedType=RSS&feedName=healthNews&utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+reuters%2FhealthNews+%28Reuters+Health+News%29
(Reuters Health) - More than 1 million Americans
injure themselves on stairs each year, according to a study in the
American Journal of Emergency Medicine.
Older
adults, younger children and women reported more injuries, but all ages
show up in emergency departments for sprains, strains, bumps and
fractures.
“Stairs are a common source of
injury among all ages, and the frequency and rate of stair-related
injuries are increasing,” said senior author Dr. Gary Smith of
Nationwide Children’s Hospital in Columbus, Ohio.
About
half of homes in the United States contain stairs, according to the
Census Bureau, and the direct and indirect costs of non-fatal stair
injuries total about $92 billion annually, the study team notes.
“This
underscores the need for increased prevention efforts, particularly
those related to stair design and construction,” Smith told Reuters
Health by email.
The researchers analyzed data from the National
Electronic Injury Surveillance System on injuries involving stairs that
were treated in emergency departments between 1990 and 2012.
They
found nearly 25 million patients treated in ERs over those 23 years,
representing an average rate of about 38 stair-related injuries per
10,000 U.S. residents annually, which is about 3,000 per day or one
injury every 30 seconds.
Injury rates fell by
about 13 percent during the early part of the study period, from 1990 to
1996, but then rose by 24 percent from 1996 to 2012, the study found.
About 62 percent of patients were women and more than 60 percent of
injuries happened at home.
Adults over age 85,
children under 3 years old and young adults in their 20s had the highest
injury rates, but over two thirds of the emergency department visitors
were a mix of ages between 11 and 60 years old.
“This
study was unable to identify the reasons for the higher injury rates
among women,” the study authors write. “However, these are the
child-bearing and parenting years . . . that could include increased
exposure to stairs related to greater time in the home while caring for
children and performing household chores.”
Nearly
94 percent of patients were treated and released from the hospital, but
6 percent were admitted for treatment of fractures or concussions. The
most common types of injuries were sprains, strains, scrapes, bruises
and broken bones. Kids under age 10 had more head injuries while older
patients had more fractures, which often required hospitalization.
Overall,
about 60 percent of injuries happened without a cause, according to the
patients’ accounts. Twenty-three percent of patients said they slid,
slipped, tripped or misstepped. A small number said they were carrying
objects and couldn’t see.
Future research
should look at stair design and safety, the study authors write. To help
prevent accidents, new stair construction and remodels could increase
the horizontal surfaces for the foot to step on, for instance.
Horizontal and vertical surfaces should also be uniform to prevent
missteps, they note.
An example of a common
tripping hazard, the study team, points out, is a missing nosing - the
part of the tread that overhangs a stair - on the top step. Stair
patterns may also throw off people at the last step, causing a
bottom-of-stair illusion.
“The term ‘slips,
trips and falls’ is a major misstatement of the full complexity of all
possible missteps,” said Jake Pauls, a building safety consultant in
Toronto, Canada, and Silver Spring, Maryland, who researches stairway
safety and usability but wasn’t involved in the study.
“Underlying
societal factors have led (in all countries) to a double standard and
lower standard for home stairways compared to those in all other
settings (such as workplaces),” Pauls told Reuters Health by email.
Handrails
with a “power grip,” which allows the entire hand to grab the rail
rather than just the fingers, reduce more severe injuries during a fall.
Slippery surfaces and loose carpeting can cause issues, too.
“Revising
building codes and updating existing stairways to comply with geometric
dimensions are recommended for optimal safety,” Smith said. “People can
also reduce injuries by keeping stairs clear of clutter, ensuring
stairways are well-lit and not multitasking while navigating the
stairs.” SOURCE: bit.ly/2yNBGax American Journal of Emergency Medicine, online September 20, 2017.
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