Abstract / Summary
Background and Objectives: External causes of death remain an important contributor to mortality among older adults. This study assessed long-term trends in mortality due to external causes, transport accidents, falls, and suicide among older adults in Poland between 2000 and 2022. Materials and Methods: Nationwide mortality data obtained from Statistics Poland were used to identify all deaths among individuals aged ≥65 years between 2000 and 2022 (n = 6,645,408). Mortality trends were analyzed separately for women and men aged 65–74 years and ≥75 years. Standardized death rates (SDRs) were calculated using the 2012 European Standard Population, and temporal trends were assessed using Joinpoint regression analysis. Results: Mortality due to transport accidents declined significantly in all age and sex groups. Among women aged 65–74 years, SDRs decreased from 46.6 to 28.1 per 100,000 for all external causes, while among men aged 75 years and older mortality due to transport accidents declined from 62.9 to 16.2 per 100,000. Falls became the leading external cause of death among adults aged ≥75 years and, in recent years, among men aged 65–74 years. Although fall-related mortality initially decreased, significant increases were observed among men aged ≥75 years after 2018. Suicide mortality remained substantially higher among men than women throughout the study period and exceeded mortality due to transport accidents among men for more than a decade. During the final years of observation, mortality due to all external causes increased among adults aged ≥75 years. Conclusions: The structure of external-cause mortality among older adults in Poland changed substantially between 2000 and 2022. While transport accident mortality markedly declined, falls emerged as the dominant external cause of death among the oldest-old, and suicide remained an important cause of mortality among older men. These findings support the implementation of targeted injury-prevention and mental health strategies in ageing populations.