Fifteen-Year Trends in Non-Fatal Assaults and Homicides Among Adults Aged 60 Years and Older – United States, 2002-2016

Background/Research Aims: Violence against older adults aged 60 years or older has not garnered as much attention as other forms of violence, despite the fact this population is growing and is increasingly vulnerable to violence by a caregiver or persons in a position to take advantage of them. The U.S. Census Bureau projects that adults aged 65 years or older, will actually outnumber youth under 18 years of age by 2035. Therefore, it is important to monitor trends in the rates of violence against older adults to increase awareness of the potential magnitude of abuse to this age group. CDC analyzed data from two large-scale surveillance systems to study trends in nonfatal assault injuries treated in emergency departments and homicides.

Methods: For the analysis, 2002-2016 data on violence directed against persons aged 60 years or older were analyzed from the National Electronic Injury Surveillance System–All Injury Program and the National Vital Statistics System. Trends in assault rates reported in a sample of emergency departments and homicide rates were stratified by sex and 10-year age groups; all trends were analyzed with Joinpoint regression.

Preliminary Results: Nonfatal assault rates nominally increased 5% from 2002-2008, and then significantly increased 52% from 2008-2016 in the total sample. For the entire period, the nonfatal assault rate increased 87% (80.0 to 149.8 per 100,000 population) among men. Women experienced an increase of 41% from 2007-2016 (42.2 to 59.6 per 100,000). For both men and women, the nonfatal assault rates were highest among those aged 60-69 years compared to other age groups. In contrast, the homicide rate among older adults declined 13% (2.4 to 2.1 per 100,000) from 2002-2014, but increased 10% to 2.3 deaths per 100,000 in 2016. This rise resulted from an increase of 20% (3.3 to 4.0 per 100,000) among men aged 60-69 years from 2013-2016. Among older adults, this group of men had the highest homicide rate, while all other groups experienced consistent declines in homicide rates from 2002-2016.

Conclusions: While the overall decline in homicide among older adults is promising among women, prevention efforts are needed to reduce nonfatal assaults on older adults, particularly among men, and homicides among men aged 60-69 years. Strategies are needed to prevent assaults to this group before they happen, and to assure identification and service referral in emergency departments and other venues to address these trends and prevent future increases in rates of violence.