We studied maxillofacial fractures treated by departments of oral and maxillofacial surgery in Tokyo. A retrospective review of records and radiographs for patients admitted during the 5-year period from 2000 to 2004 was conducted at five departments in Tokyo. Date, age, gender, cause of injury, fracture site, concomitant injury, domestic violence against women, and treatment were reviewed. 674 patients with maxillofacial fractures were admitted. Male-to-female ratio was 3.6:1. The most frequent age group was 21-25 years. Fractures of the mandible were most frequent (87%), followed by the maxilla (14%) and the zygomatic bone (12%). Thirty-one percent of fractures were due to traffic accidents, 29% to accidental falls, 23% to violence and 14% to sports. The incidence of maxillofacial fractures caused by traffic accidents was lower, and that caused by falls and violence were higher than in other countries. Seventeen percent of the maxillofacial fracture patients had concomitant injuries. The incidence of domestic violence-related maxillofacial fracture was 1.6% of all cases. These cases were mainly caused by a husband (55%) or a sexual partner (36%). Most patients (67%) were treated by open reduction surgery. However, condylar fracture alone was usually treated by closed reduction surgery.

BACKGROUND: To examine changes in psychological distress prevalence among pregnant women in Miyagi Prefecture, which was directly affected by the Great East Japan Earthquake and tsunami, and compare it with the other, less damaged areas of Japan. METHODS: This study was conducted in conjunction with the Japan Environment and Children`s Study. We examined 76,152 pregnant women including 8270 in Miyagi Regional Center and 67,882 in 13 other regional centers from the all-birth fixed data of the Japan Environment and Children's Study. We then compared the prevalence and risk of distress in women in Miyagi Regional Center and women in the 13 regional centers for 3 years after the disaster. RESULTS: Women in the Miyagi Regional Center suffered more psychological distress than those in the 13 regional centers: OR 1.38 (95% CI, 1.03-1.87) to 1.92 (95% CI, 1.42-2.60). Additionally, women in the inland area had a consistently higher prevalence of psychological distress compared to those from the 13 regional centers: OR 1.67 (95% CI, 1.18-2.38) to 2.19 (95% CI, 1.60-2.99). CONCLUSIONS The lack of pre-disaster data in the Japan Environment and Children's Study made it impossible to compare the incidence of psychological distress before and after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. However, 3 years after the Great East Japan Earthquake, the prevalence of pregnant women with psychological distress did not improve in Miyagi Regional Center. Further, the prevalence of mental illness in inland areas was consistently higher than that in the 13 regional centers after the disaster.
Adolescent ; Adult ; Disasters ; Earthquakes ; Female ; Humans ; Japan/epidemiology* ; Pregnancy ; Pregnancy Complications/psychology* ; Pregnant Women/psychology* ; Prevalence ; Psychological Distress ; Tsunamis ; Young Adult