climbs with age, reaching
a high of 294 deaths per
100,000 population for
people age 85 years and
older (see Table i). By far
the most common cause
of injury death for these
ages is falls. Ofthe 39,311
injury deaths in 2001,
some 30 percent (11,623) were the result of a
fall. Following falls are motor vehicle crashes
(18 percent) and suicide by fireann, suffocation,
and poisoning (13 percent) (Centers for Disease
Control and Prevention [CDC], 2004).