title: Facial trauma as physical violence markers against elderly Brazilians: A comparative analysis between genders.
abstract: The aim of this study was to characterize the profile of elderly Brazilians with injuries resulting from physical violence and identify victimization differences. A descriptive and exploratory study was conducted involving the analysis of medico-legal and social records of 259 elderly victims of physical violence treated at an Institute of Forensic Medicine and Dentistry over four years (from January 2008 to December 2011). The forensic service database was evaluated by researchers properly trained and calibrated to perform this function between January and March 2013. Socio-demographic variables of victims, aggression characteristics, aggressor's profile and types of lesions were evaluated. Descriptive and multivariate statistics using Multiple Correspondence Analysis (MCA) were performed. The prevalence of facial trauma was 42.9%. Based on the MCA results, two groups with different victimization profiles were identified: married men aged 70-79 years, victims of community violence at night, suffering facial injuries; and single, widowed or separated women aged 60-69 years, victims of domestic violence during the day, suffering trauma in other areas of the body. The results suggest that there is a high prevalence of facial injuries among elderly Brazilians victims of physical violence and there are important differences related to victimization characteristics according to gender.
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rayanne Izabel Maciel
authors.initials: RI
authors.lastname: de Sousa
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ítalo
authors.initials: Í
authors.lastname: de Macedo Bernardino
authors.affiliation: Universidade Federal da Paraíba (UFPB), João Pessoa, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ricardo Dias
authors.initials: RD
authors.lastname: Castro
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Alessandro Leite
authors.initials: AL
authors.lastname: Cavalcanti
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil.
authors.forename: Patricia Meira
authors.initials: PM
authors.lastname: Bento
authors.affiliation: Universidade Estadual da Paraíba (UEPB), Campina Grande, PB, Brazil. Electronic address: davila2407@hotmail.com.
authors.forename: Sérgio
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: d'Ávila
mesh_terms: D000368:Aged; D000369:Aged, 80 and over; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019548:Crime Victims / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057237:Criminals / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D017579:Domestic Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D005147:Facial Bones / Q000293:injuries*; D005151:Facial Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D005260:Female; D050723:Fractures, Bone / Q000453:epidemiology*; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017533:Marital Status; D008875:Middle Aged; D015999:Multivariate Analysis; D000066550:Physical Abuse / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012737:Sex Factors; D017695:Soft Tissue Injuries / Q000453:epidemiology*; D013997:Time Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Elder abuse; Violence; Wounds and injuries