Accidents involving motorcycles and potential years of life lost. An ecological and exploratory study

CONTEXT AND OBJECTIVE: Traffic accidents have gained prominence as one of the modern epidemics that plague the world. The objective of this study was to identify the spatial distribution of potential years of life lost (PYLL) due to accidents involving motorcycles in the state of Sao Paulo, Brazil. DESIGN AND SETTING: Ecological and exploratory study conducted in Sao Paulo. METHODS: Data on deaths among individuals aged 20-39 years due to motorcycle accidents (V20-V29 in the International Classification of Diseases, 10th revision) in the state of Sao Paulo in the years 20072011 were obtained from DATASUS. These data were stratified into a database for the 63 microregions of this state, according to where the motorcyclist lived. PYLL rates per 100,000 inhabitants were calculated. Spatial autocorrelations were estimated using the Global Moran index (IM). Thematic, Moran and Kernel maps were constructed using PYLL rates for the age groups of 20-29 and 30-39 years. The Terraview 4.2.2 software was used for the analysis. RESULTS: The PYLL rates were 486.9 for the ages of 20-29 years and 199.5 for 30-39 years. Seventeen microregions with high PYLL rates for the age group of 20-29 years were identified. There was higher density of these rates on the Kernel map of the southeastern region (covering the metropolitan region of Sao Paulo). There were no spatial autocorrelations between rates. CONCLUSIONS: The data presented in this study identified microregions with high accident rates involving motorcycles and microregions that deserve special attention from regional managers and traffic experts.