title: The epidemiology of traumatic humeral shaft fractures in Taiwan.
abstract: We retrospectively analysed 106 consecutive traumatic humeral shaft fractures over a five-year period. The mechanism of injury, age, gender, fracture types, associated injury and the presence of injury to the radial nerve were reviewed. The incidence was about 10 per 100,000 per year; most were closed fractures in young males which had been sustained as a result of traffic accidents. The age-gender distribution was characterised by gradually increased incidence from the fifth decade in women, while it reached a peak at the third decade and decreased after the fifth decade in men. The results revealed different epidemiological features from previous studies. The epidemiology differs between ethnicity and country, and updating the epidemiological features of humeral shaft fractures may provide information for appropriate treatment programmes. This study documents the epidemiology of humeral shaft fracture in Taiwan, probably for the first time in this Asian community.
authors.affiliation: Department of Orthopaedics, China Medical University Hospital, North District, Taichung City, Taiwan, Republic of China.
authors.forename: Chun-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Tsai
authors.forename: Yi-Chin
authors.initials: YC
authors.lastname: Fong
authors.forename: Ying-Hao
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.forename: Chin-Jung
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Hsu
authors.forename: Chia-Hao
authors.initials: CH
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Horng-Chaung
authors.initials: HC
authors.lastname: Hsu
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D002648:Child; D005260:Female; D017102:Fracture Healing / Q000502:physiology; D005596:Fractures, Closed / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005597:Fractures, Open / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D006810:Humeral Fractures / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging* / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000601:surgery; D015994:Incidence; D015601:Injury Severity Score; D016015:Logistic Models; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009104:Multiple Trauma / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000453:epidemiology; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D016017:Odds Ratio; D011859:Radiography; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D017678:Sex Distribution; D013624:Taiwan / Q000453:epidemiology; D055815:Young Adult