Aging has occurred rapidly in the facial fracture population - are we ready?

OBJECTIVES: It is well known that the global population is aging. The aim of this study was to compare the annual changes in age and sex profile among patients with facial fractures over an 8-year period. MATERIALS AND METHODS: This retrospective cohort study included facial fracture patients treated at a tertiary trauma center between January 2013 and October 2020. The study examined age- and sex-related changes over time, and investigated the association between aging, ground-level falls, and the need for surgical treatment. RESULTS: In total, data was collected for 4170 facial fracture patients included in the study. Of these patients, 2957 (70.9%) were male. The mean age of the study population was 45.7 years old, with a median age of 42.4 years. The most common mechanism of injury was ground-level falls, accounting for 31.8% of cases, followed by assaults at 27.6%, and traffic collisions at 20.1%. The increase in mean age over time was statistically significant both for females (p = 0.028) and males (p = 0.001). The incidence of ground-level falls among males showed a statistically significant increase over time (p < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides insight into the ongoing change in the characteristics of patients suffering from facial fractures. Overall, clinicians will encounter increasingly more elderly male patients with facial fractures due to ground-level falls. CLINICAL RELEVANCE: We encourage units treating facial fractures to consider the care processes for the elderly, as their proportion within patient populations continues to increase.