Serious Poisonings Among Older Adults: a Study of Hospitalization and Mortality Rates in Massachusetts 1983-85

Analyzed poisoning-related hospitalization & mortality rates among older adults living in Massachusetts during 1983-85. While poisoning-related hospitalization rates of individuals greater than or equal to 60 yrs of age were near the state average, death rates for men greater than or equal to 70 yrs & for women over 60 were higher than those of younger individuals. Medications & carbon monoxide were commonly implicated agents in these poisoning deaths. 13 refs.