Accidental poisoning deaths spike upwards

For reasons not totally understood, the mortality rate from unintended injury in the United States rose 11 percent between 1999 and 2005, a new study finds. The jumps in poisoning deaths and deaths from falls were particularly high and troubling, researchers said. Overall, 89 percent of the total increase in unintentional injury deaths in the U.S. between 1999 and 2005 was due to poisoning among those 15 to 64 years old and falls among those 45 and older, which increased by about 11,200 and 6,600, respectively. "While we don't know the cause behind the recent increase in falls mortality, it appears that the increase in poisonings is largely due to prescription drugs," said study co-author Susan P. Baker at Johns Hopkins University. Other studies have also found alarming increased in prescription drug overdoses, while prescriptions for antidepressants, in particular, have soared. Meanwhile, overall abuse of certain prescription drugs nearly doubled from 2000 to 2007, according to separate research by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.