Trends in traffic accidents mortality and social inequalities in Ecuador from 2011 to 2022

Abstract

Background According to WHO data, traffic accidents caused 1,282,150 deaths globally in 2019, with a projection to become the fifth leading cause of mortality by 2030, highlighting significant public and economic health impacts. This study aimed to describe the trends in traffic accidents mortality in Ecuador between 2011 and 2022, by year, gender, age group, geographic location, type of accident and social inequalities. Methods A population-based study was conducted using national statistics on mortality due to traffic accidents in Ecuador, between 2011 and 2022, obtained from the National Institute of Statistics and Census. Crude mortality rates, adjusted per region per 100,000 inhabitants, were calculated by region, province, gender, and age group. The annual percentage change of the traffic accidents mortality rate and the Absolute Risks were calculated, as well as rate ratios between the groups. Inequalities by per capita income and by illiteracy rate were also calculated. Results The average mortality rate due to traffic accidents in Ecuador (2011–2022) was 19.1. The rates were higher in men (31.3) than in women (7.2), with a rate ratio of 4.3. The rates were higher in the Amazon region (24.0), decreasing in recent years, with a statistically significant negative annual percentage variation of -1.2%, as in the Sierra region and Coast. Santo Domingo de los Tsáchilas presented the highest rate (30.6), while, the highest rate related to age, (27.4) was identified in the 17 to 24 years group. In 2011, the highest rate (22.0) was recorded. The most frequent type of accident was "unspecified" followed by pedestrians. Conclusions There was evidence of an increase (247.7%) of traffic accidents mortality inequalities stratified by per capita income between 2011 and 2019 and a decrease (18.9%) of traffic accidents mortality inequalities stratified by the illiteracy rate between 2014 and 2019. In Ecuador, between 2011 and 2020, transport accident mortality rates are decreasing significantly, showing important disparities by gender, age group, and province. The high frequency of “unspecified” causes denotes the necessity to improve the registration and/or coding system of the causes of death due to traffic accidents in Ecuador.