Is there a change in the epidemiology of nasal fractures in females in the UK?

A Retrospective Review of Facial Fractures in Wales

Facial fractures are the third most common type of fracture, with the nose most frequently involved. In the United Kingdom, their incidence is rising among young males particularly, and recent reports suggest that nasal injuries in females are becoming more common, which is attributed to “ladette” culture. The aim of this study was to investigate if there is any correlation in Wales with the rise in female facial fractures reported in England. A retrospective analysis of National Health Service Wales Informatics Service data (NHS WIS) shows that facial fractures were more likely to occur in males, in their teens or twenties, most commonly caused by assault and linked to alcohol consumption in this demographic. The most common cause of facial fracture in Wales was due to an accident which differs from England. The overall number of facial fractures in both males and females did not change significantly. It may be that the binge drinking culture is not as prevalent in Wales as it is in England. The reasons for this may be mutifactorial, reflecting geographical, cultural and socio-economic factors. Our findings do not correlate with the literature regarding the epidemiology of facial fractures. We suggest that binge drinking and “ladette culture” is not seen as commonly in Wales from the point of view of the ill effects of alcohol consumption.

Etiology of Nasal Bone Fractures

The aim of this study was to perform a systematic review of the etiology of nasal bone fractures (NBFs).In PubMed (500 titles) and Scopus (272), the search terms "nasal bone fracture" AND "etiology OR cause" were used. Among the 772 titles, 137 were duplicated and excluded. The 552 titles were excluded and 83 abstracts were read. Subsequently, 42 abstracts were excluded and 41 full articles providing data on etiologies of NBFs were reviewed. Finally, 26 papers were incorporated into this analysis.The causes of NBFs were different between adults and children. In adults, the most frequent causes were fights (36.3%), traffic accidents (20.8%), sports (15.3%), and falls (13.4%). In children, the most frequent causes were sports (59.3%), fights (10.8%), traffic accidents (8.3%), collisions (5.0%), and falls (3.3%). It is noticeable that fights, traffic accidents, and falls were more frequent in adults than in children, although sports and collisions were more frequent in children than in adults (P < 0.001). The causes of NBFs varied geographically. Fights were the most frequent cause in Asia (36.7%), South America (46.5%), and Europe (40.8%). In North America, however, traffic accidents were the most frequent cause (33.6%), followed by fights (20.7%) and sports (17.3%). Among the sports injuries, ball-related sports were the most frequent cause (84.2%). Fighting-related sports (6.4%) contributed to relatively small proportion of NBFs.In efforts to prevent NBFs in children, sports injuries should be primarily considered. Restraining devices such as seatbelts are needed to prevent NBFs caused by traffic accidents, especially in North America.