ObjectiveTo know the prevalence and etiology of oral and maxillofacial trauma in elders.MethodsAnalytical quantitative cross-sectional study conducted at a public trauma hospital located in Fortaleza-Ceará, Brazil. The study population comprised patients with trauma who were hospitalized from April to August 2014. Of these patients, patients with oral and maxillofacial trauma were chosen to be included in the research. A questionnaire was administered in order to obtain information on socio-demographics, systemic comorbidities, use of medication, deleterious habits (smoking and alcohol consumption), etiology of oral and maxillofacial trauma and type of pre-hospital care.ResultsOf the 280 elderly hospitalized with trauma, 47 had oral and maxillofacial trauma, with a prevalence of 16.8%. In this group, the age ranged from 60 to 88 years, with a mean age of 72.4 years (SD± 8.38). The elderly were mostly women (55.3%), self-declared pardos (53.2%), who presented with cardiovascular disorders (48.9%), and who received formal pre-hospital care (70.2%). Elderly who were in the 60–69 years age group, spent 6–9 years at school and drank alcohol were 2.64, 3.75, and 1.97, respectively, more likely to suffer oral and maxillofacial trauma. The main causes of trauma were physical aggression, traffic accidents, falls and domestic accidents. All of the physical aggressions resulted in oral and maxillofacial traumas, and the elderly who suffered traffic accidents were four times more likely to have oral and maxillofacial trauma.ConclusionThe prevalence of 16.8% and the lack of research on oral and maxillofacial traumas in the elderly is worrisome and should be included in the oral health indicators for the elderly population to support the importance of oral health.

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Traumatic injuries can have an impact on the functional capacity and quality of life of older adults.Given that, we sought to measure the functionality of older trauma patients and its implication for rehabilitation therapy. This is cross-sectional study of 257 trauma patients aged 60 years and older admitted to a public hospital in Brazil. A sociodemographic questionnaire and the Brazilian version of the Functional Independence Measure (FIM) were used. Mean FIM total score was 42.5±19.9, mean FIM motor score was 30.2±21.5, and mean FIM cognitive score was 74.5±28.0. The most affected FIM domains were self-care (mean of 25.6±26.6), mobility (mean of 14.6±28.7) and locomotion (mean of 9.7±21.9 ). Men (mean total FIM score of 48.1±23.1) were more independent than women (mean total FIM score of 39.0±16.8), with statistically significant differences in mean FIM total score (p<0.001) and in the motor (p=0.002) and cognitive (p=0.029) subscales. Self-care (p<0.001), mobility (p<0.001), locomotion (p=0.002) and social cognition (p=0.024) scores were significantly different between genders, with women exh ibiting the worst scores. Lower body injuries significantly impaired motor (p<0.001) and cognitive (p=0.002) functionality. There was an impairment in functional independence, mainly among women, with a greater impact on the motor domain.