Road traffic accidents: Global Burden of Disease study, Brazil and federated units, 1990 and 2015.

Objective:: To describe the global burden of disease due to road traffic accidents in Brazil and federated units in 1990 and 2015.

Methods:: This is an analysis of secondary data from the 2015 Global Burden of Disease study estimates. The following estimates were used: standardized mortality rates and years of life lost by death or disability, potential years of life lost due to premature death, and years of unhealthy living conditions. The Mortality Information System was the main source of death data. Underreporting and redistribution of ill-defined causes and nonspecific codes were corrected.

Results:: Around 52,326 deaths due to road traffic accidents were estimated in Brazil in 2015. From 1990 to 2015, mortality rates decreased from 36.9 to 24.8/100 thousand people, a reduction of 32.8%. Tocantins and Piauí have the highest mortality risks among the federated units (FU), with 41.7/100 and 33.1/100 thousand people, respectively. They both present the highest rates of potential years of life lost due to premature deaths.

Conclusion:: Road traffic accidents are a public health problem. Using death- or disability-adjusted life years in studies of these causes is important because there are still no sources to know the magnitude of sequelae, as well as the weight of early deaths. Since its data are updated every year, the Global Burden of Disease study may provide evidence to formulate traffic security and health attention policies, which are guided to the needs of the federated units and of different groups of traffic users.