Road traffic deaths in children under the age of five in Colombia, 2005-2009

Abstract

Introduction: Road traffic deaths have increased during the past years worldwide. During 2007, the mortality due to road traffic accidents in children under the age of five was 11.7 per 100,000 in Colombia.

Objective: To describe the trend of road traffic deaths in children under the age of five in Colombia from 2005 to 2009.

Materials and methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study of death certificates in children under the age of five as registered in the official vital statistics records from 2005 to 2009 (ICD-10, codes V000-V999). We made a descriptive analysis, calculated mortality rates based on projections by the National Administrative Statistics Department and we established risk levels by provinces and municipalities (percentiles), as well as by conglomerates using Excel®, PASW statistics18® and EpiInfo® for the maps.

Results: All in all, 713 road traffic deaths occurred from 2005 to 2009 in children under the age of five corresponding to 0.8% of total deaths in that age group. The total number of road traffic deaths decreased from 2005 (159 deaths) to 2009 (136 deaths). The mean national death rate due to road traffic accidents was 3.3 per 100,000 with a higher rate among one to four year-old children (3.5/100,000) compared to children under the age of one (2.6/100,000). The highest prevalence of road traffic deaths was observed in January (9.7%) and July (10.6%). The provinces with the highest road traffic death rate were Meta, Boyacá, Arauca, Norte de Santander and Cundinamarca.

Conclusions: Children were the group mostly affected by the event, which increased during school holidays and was more pronounced in tourist and commercial areas.