Hospitalisation trends for falls and facial fractures in elderly Australian: A national ecological analysis, from 2013–14 to 2022–23

Objective: This study investigated national trends in fall- and facial fracture–related hospitalisations among Australians aged 65 years and over from 2013 to 14 to 2022–23, and examined the association between hospitalisation of specific facial fracture subtypes and fall rates. Study Design: Ecological study using publicly available national hospitalisation data. Methods: The dataset included all hospital admissions with a principal diagnosis of fall or facial fracture. Trends in hospitalisation rates were analysed using linear regression, and Pearson correlation was applied to assess associations between fall and facial fracture rates. Indexed trends and scatterplots were used to visualise temporal and population-level relationships. Results: From 2013–14 to 2022–23, facial fracture hospitalisation rates among Australians aged 65 +increased from 55.7 to 84.4 per 100,000, while fall-related hospitalisations rose from 2891.5 to 3171.8 per 100,000.Although both trends were significant, facial fractures increased disproportionately faster than falls over the decade-long study period overall. Nasal fractures had the highest average rate (40.04 per 100,000) and mandibular fractures the lowest (5.17 per 100,000). Fall-related hospitalisation rates were 9.4 times higher in adults aged 85+years than in those aged 65–69, while facial fracture rates were 6.6 times higher in the oldest group. Correlation analysis showed a strong positive association between fall-related and overall facial fracture hospitalisation rates across the study period. Reliance on principal diagnosis codes likely underestimated facial fractures. Conclusions: Facial fracture hospitalisations among older Australians increased disproportionately compared with falls, underscoring the need for integrated prevention strategies in this ageing population.