Death by Drowning in Older Adults is Rising

When you hear of someone drowning in the backyard pool, the tendency is to think about a child who wasn’t being watched closely enough, you’d be correct in that assumption, but increasingly, drowning rates of older adults in swimming pools and bathtubs is growing. In the United States, the rates are higher for older adults than for children. As we have more older adults than ever before on our planet it isn’t surprising that there are more drowning deaths, but it’s not just more people, it’s also a greater percentage of the total drowning deaths. The percentage has nearly doubled and will have doubled by 2050 if the trends continue.

Why are older adults drowning at higher rates? There are actually 2 separate groups of older adults who are drowning: 65 -75 and 76-85. The 65 -75 years old are drowning in water accidents in lakes and rivers and oceans. They are actively engaged in boating and die in boating accidents. There are many plausible reasons for this factor but one commonly mentioned is that the older person, feeling fine, is involved in water activities like sailing and under usual circumstances are within their capabilities but in a storm, or other extreme circumstance, they are no longer able to manage the boat (canoe, Kayak, paddle board, raft, etc.) and they drown. The 76 -85 years old tend to drown at home in different circumstances. Most often, they fall into the water and are unable to get up from the water. It doesn’t take a lot of water for someone to drown who is unable to lift one’s head out of the water. Why has there been an increase in this type of death? As people are living longer, we have more people with dementia who lack the ability to make safe decisions. They don’t consider bathing in their own bathroom as a risk; they don’t think about a backyard pool whether a full-sized pool or a grandchild’s wading pool as a potential hazard.

Home safety checks must include evaluation of the potential for the older adult to access standing water and if there is water, there must be a responsible adult supervising. Worldwide, there has been a huge decrease in the number of deaths of children by drowning since aggressive education programs about drowning hazards began. Education and safety preparation make a difference. The same education and attention must be utilized when an older adult has dementia to prevent drowning deaths.