Recreational Activity and Facial Trauma Among Older Adults

As the US population ages, public health agencies have released guidelines encouraging aerobic activity and muscle-strengthening exercises among older individuals. Facial trauma from such activities among elderly individuals has long been underappreciated.

To evaluate the incidence of recreational activity-associated facial fractures among older adults and to further delineate injury characteristics including demographics, fracture location, and specific activities.

The National Electronic Injury Surveillance System was used to collect data on emergency department visits from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2015, for individuals 55 years of age or older who sustained facial fractures from recreational activities. Individual entries were evaluated for activity code, fracture site, and demographics. Weighting data were used to extrapolate national incidence.

Incidence and location of facial fractures and associated recreational activity.

During the study period, there were 20 519 emergency department visits for recreational activity-associated facial fractures among adults 55 years of age or older (8107 women and 12 412 men; mean [SD] age, 66.5 [9.1] years). The annual incidence of facial fractures increased by 45.3% from 2011 (n = 3174) through 2015 (n = 4612). Bicycling (26.6%), team sports (15.4%), outdoor activities (10.1%), and gardening (9.5%) were the most common causes of facial fractures. Walking and jogging caused 5.5% of fractures. In cases specifying site of fracture, nasal (65.4%) and orbital (14.1%) fractures were the most common. A greater proportion of men than women sustained bicycle-associated fractures (35.7% vs 14.9%; P = 3.1056 × 10-170), while more women than men sustained fractures associated with gardening (15.5% vs 6.1%; P = 2.1029 × 10-97), outdoor activities (14.6% vs 7.7%; P = 4.3156 × 10-50), and gym exercise (7.7% vs 1.3%; P = 3.0281 × 10-114). Men harbored a greater likelihood than women of orbital (14.9% vs 12.8%; P = 6.1468 × 10-5) and mandible fractures (9.3% vs 2.0%; P = 9.3760 × 10-64). Walking and jogging and gardening comprised a greater proportion of injuries in older cohorts.

Facial fractures sustained from recreational activity increased by 45.3% during a 5-year period among older adults. Although bicycling was the most common activity facilitating these injuries, many other pursuits represent areas of concern. Nasal fractures predominated, although orbital fractures increased with age. These findings offer areas for targeted prevention and provide valuable information for patient counseling. Furthermore, initiatives encouraging greater activity among this population may need to be accompanied by guidelines for injury prevention.

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