[Maxillofacial injuries as markers of urban violence: a comparative analysis between the genders]

Urban violence is a widely discussed topic in various sectors of society, either due to its impact on public health indicators and its influence on the everyday life of individuals or the constant presence of casualties in the health services. This study compares differences in victimization between the genders based on maxillofacial injuries as markers of urban violence. This is a cross-sectional study with data collected in three hospitals of reference for multiple traumatic injuries in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, between January 2008 and December 2010. The analysis included descriptive and multivariate statistics using logistic regression. There were records of 7,063 victims, 55.1% of which involved interpersonal violence. The majority of victims were males (71.2%). Among the male victims, firearm and knife-inflicted aggression and motorcycle accidents were more frequent than aggression without the use of a weapon. Multiple fractures were the type of injury that best characterized the profile of victimization among males compared to soft tissue injuries. Gender is an important factor in victimization resulting in maxillofacial injuries and urban violence, in which males are the main victims.