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Lookup NU author(s): Professor Michael Goodfellow
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© 2019 The British Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons Patients with a low socioeconomic status suffer disproportionately from trauma, and have a high incidence of mandibular fractures. To explore how deprivation affects the incidence of facial fractures in the north east of England, we reviewed 1096 patients who were admitted to the oral and maxillofacial surgical (OMFS) unit at Sunderland Royal Hospital for treatment of a facial fracture between December 2013 and December 2017. Levels of socioeconomic deprivation, which were obtained from postcodes and the UK Government Open Data Communities database, were compared with a random sample of deprivation data from the catchment area of our hospital. Patients with nasal and mandibular fractures were more likely to be socioeconomically deprived than those in the catchment area of our hospital (p = 0.006 and p < 0.001, respectively), but this was not the case in those with malar/maxillary or orbital floor fractures (p = 0.184 and p = 0.641, respectively). The incidence of fractures that were caused by assault was not associated with increased socioeconomic deprivation (p = 0.241). Patients of low socioeconomic status were more likely to have been under the influence of a substance when the injury occurred (p = 0.014). There is a strong association between socioeconomic deprivation and facial fractures. OMFS departments should therefore be as accessible as possible to patients from more disadvantaged backgrounds, given their greater risk of injury.
Author(s): Goodfellow M, Burns A
Publication type: Article
Publication status: Published
Journal: British Journal of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery
Year: 2019
Volume: 57
Issue: 3
Pages: 255-259
Print publication date: 01/04/2019
Online publication date: 18/03/2019
Acceptance date: 21/11/2018
ISSN (print): 0266-4356
ISSN (electronic): 1532-1940
Publisher: Elsevier
URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.bjoms.2018.11.021
DOI: 10.1016/j.bjoms.2018.11.021
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