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October 25, 2006
I want to know the number of facially disfigured in the US ...
Q:
Can you direct me to a website or publication that gives the statistic of how many Americans are facially disfigured? I would like to have this number for a paper that I am writing for my elective class.
A:
There are so many different ways to answer this question, I am not sure even where to start! It really depends on how you define "facial differences", which is potentially a broad concept.
There is a huge range of genetic conditions that can result in facial differences. There are also oral or head/neck cancers, trauma, and skin conditions that may or may not effect the face. There may be statistics for each of these individually (which would be a huge project). If there is a source that gives an overall estimate
of incidence or frequency, you would want to first find out how they were defining the concept.
To begin with, please look at the Let's Face It page on General Information > Reference, which includes a section on Statistics. This is the mostly likely place to find the sort of information you want for your paper.
Next, let's look at some strategies you could use to find answers for this question.
STRATEGY #1:
There are overall stats for birth defects, but you have to remember that not all of these involve the face.
CDC: National Center for Health Statistics: FASTATS: Birth Defects: http://www.cdc.gov/nchs/fastats/bdefects.htm
Edmonds, Larry D.; James, Levy M. Temporal Trends in the Prevalence of Congenital Malformations at Birth Based on the Birth Defects Monitoring Program, United States, 1979-1987. MMWR December 01, 1990 / 39(SS-4);19-23.
http://www.cdc.gov/MMWR/preview/mmwrhtml/00001892.htm
Rolv Terje Lie et al, "A Population-Based Study of the Risk of Recurrence of Birth Defects," NEJM 31(1) 1994:1-4.
STRATEGY #2:
You can look for statistics for diseases or conditions that effect a specific part of the face. Here are a couple examples.
Here are statistics for cancer of the eye:
National Cancer Institute: Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER): Cancer Stat Fact Sheets: Cancer of the Eye and Orbit:
http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/eye.html
Statistics for oral cancers:
National Cancer Institute: Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER): Cancer Stat Fact Sheets: Cancer of the Oral Cavity and Pharynx: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/oralcav.html
National Cancer Institute: Surveillance Epidemiology and End Results (SEER): Cancer Stat Fact Sheets: Cancer of the Tongue: http://seer.cancer.gov/statfacts/html/tongue.html
STRATEGY #3:
You might also want to look for statistics on specific conditions known to effect the face.
Stanford Craniofacial Anomalies Center: Hemangiomas: http://craniofacial.stanford.edu/HemangiomaPAGE.html
"The incidence of hemangiomas is 10-12% in Caucasian children."
Stanford Craniofacial Anomalies Center: Cleft Lip / Palate:
http://craniofacial.stanford.edu/CleftLipPalatePAGE.html
"One in every six hundred births a cleft occurs in some form."
Stanford Craniofacial Anomalies Center: Craniosynostosis: http://craniofacial.stanford.edu/CraniosynostosisPAGE.html
"Plagiocephaly occurs the most often. It happens in approximately 1 out of 2500 births."
International Craniofacial Institute: Cleft Lip and Palate Statistics: http://www.craniofacial.net/sf/cleft_lip_and_palate.htm
eMedicine: Plastic Surgery: Craniofacial: Craniofacial, Cleft Palate Repair, by Pravin K. Patel MD: http://www.emedicine.com/plastic/topic168.htm
"Frequency: The incidence of cleft lip/palate (CL/P) by race is 2.1/1000 in Asians, 1/1000 in whites, and 0.41/1000 in blacks."
Posted by pfa at October 25, 2006 08:58 AM