Trends of maxillofacial injuries resulting from physical violence in Brazil

A large proportion of interpersonal violence results in maxillofacial injuries. The monitoring of maxillofacial injuries in the context of gender violence has been little explored. The aim of this study was to analyze trends in cases of maxillofacial injuries resulting from interpersonal physical violence considering the gender of the victim and perpetrator.

A time-series study was conducted. Data regarding maxillofacial injury cases due to interpersonal physical violence were collected from reports at a forensic institute of a city in northeastern Brazil, between 2008 and 2014 (84 months). Rates of interpersonal physical violence per 100 000 inhabitants were determined for each gender. A negative binomial regression model was used to evaluate trends. The cycle plot was used to investigate the occurrence of seasonality, considering subseries for each month.

A total of 3561 reports were analyzed, revealing higher rates of female victims and male perpetrators throughout the series. There was no indication of seasonality. The annual percentage of injuries involving male victims reduced significantly by 6.8% (P < .001), while injuries involving female victims increased significantly by 4.5% (P = .002). Regarding perpetrators, rates remained constant over time, following the same pattern for both genders.

The data demonstrate greater victimization involving maxillofacial injuries against women perpetrated more often by men, with a trend toward an increase in female victims and a reduction in male victims.