Traumatic injury among females: does gender matter?

BACKGROUND: Trauma remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Generally, the incidence of traumatic injuries is disproportionately high in males. However, trauma in females is underreported. AIM: To study the epidemiology and outcome of different mechanisms and types of traumatic injuries in women. METHODS: We conducted a traditional narrative review using PubMed, MEDLINE and EMBASE, searching for English-language publications for gender-specific trauma between January 1993 and January 2013 using key words “trauma”, “gender”, “female” and “women”. RESULTS: Among 1150 retrieved articles, 71 articles were relevant over 20 years. Although it is an important public health problem, traumatic injuries among females remain under-reported. CONCLUSION: There is a need for further research and evaluation of the exact burden of traumatic injuries among females together with the implementation of effective community based preventive programs.