Mortality and potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries in Brazil, 2013

To estimate the potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries three years after the beginning of the Decade of Action for Traffic Safety. We analyzed the data of the Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM - Mortality Information System) related to road traffic injuries, in 2013. We estimated the crude and standardized mortality rates for Brazil and geographic regions. We calculated, for the Country, the proportional mortality according to age groups, education level, race/skin color, and type or quality of the victim while user of the public highway. We estimated the potential years of life lost according to sex. The mortality rate in 2013 was of 21.0 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants for the Country. The Midwest region presented the highest rate (29.9 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants). Most of the deaths by road traffic injuries took place with males (34.9 deaths per 100,000 males). More than half of the people who have died because of road traffic injuries were of black race/skin color, young adults (24.2%), individuals with low schooling (24.0%), and motorcyclists (28.5%). The mortality rate in the triennium 2011-2013 decreased 4.1%, but increased among motorcyclists. Across the Country, more than a million of potential years of life were lost, in 2013, because of road traffic injuries, especially in the age group of 20 to 29 years. The impact of the high mortality rate is of over a million of potential years of life lost by road traffic injuries, especially among adults in productive age (early mortality), in only one year, representing extreme social cost arising from a cause of death that could be prevented. Despite the reduction of mortality by road traffic injuries from 2011 to 2013, the mortality rates increased among motorcyclists. Estimar os anos potenciais de vida perdidos por acidente de transporte terrestre após três anos do início da Década de Ação pela Segurança no Trânsito. Foram analisados os dados do Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade correspondentes aos acidentes de transporte terrestre, em 2013. Foram calculadas as taxas de mortalidade bruta e padronizada para o Brasil e regiões geográficas. Foi calculada, para o País, a mortalidade proporcional segundo faixas etárias, escolaridade, raça/cor da pele e tipo ou qualidade da vítima enquanto usuária da via pública. Foram estimados os anos potenciais de vida perdidos segundo sexo. A taxa de mortalidade, em 2013, foi de 21,0 óbitos por 100 mil habitantes para o País. A região