Mortality by external causes in adults in the city of Campina Grande, Paraiba, Brazil <b>[Abstract in English]</b>

Abstract

Aims: To evaluate the mortality by external causes in adults in the city of Campina Grande, Paraiba State, Brazil. Methods: An observational, retrospective study was undertaken by the analysis of secondary data in a sample universe comprehending 768 autopsy reports of individuals aged 19 years or older who were fatal victims of external causes in 2005. The following variables were analyzed: gender, age group, time and date of accident, intention inflicted by the act (whether intentional or not), and the cause of death. Data were analyzed through the Epi Info statistical software and the existence of a significant association among the variables was verified using the chi-square test. All tests fixed the level for rejection of the null hypothesis at p<0.05. Odds ratio (OR) and confidence interval (CI) of 95% was used to analyze the force and direction of the associations. Results: There was a predominance of men (88.5%) among the victims with a male-to-female ratio of 7.7:1. Regarding the age, most victims were aged 19 to 28 years (31.3%). Most deaths occurred at night (32.2%) and during the weekends (39.65). The main etiologic agents were motor vehicle accidents (35.5%) and firearms (24.2%), existing a positive association between deaths by firearms and gender (OR 2.33; CI95% 1.21-4.50). Conclusions: Men in the 19-38 year old age range are the most frequent victims of death by external causes, and motor vehicle accidents and firearms are the main etiologic agents. KEY WORDS: MORTALITY REGISTRIES; MORTALITY; EIDEMIOLOGY; EXTERNAL CAUSES; ACCIDENTS, TRAFFIC/statistics & numerical data; FIREARMS/statistics & numerical data; OBSERVATIONAL STUDIES; RETROSPECTIVES STUDIES ADULT.