Behavior of deaths due to external causes in Cali, 1985-1987

Abstract

To know the pattern of deaths due to accidents, suicides, and homicides during 1986 and 1987, when related to a previous study made in 1985, 1512 deaths registered in 1986 as external cause in the Legal Medicine Institute of the city of Cali, Colombia, were analyzed, as well as the 1170 deaths registered from January 1 to December 31 of 1987. Homicides rate of 44.6 for each 100,000 inhabitants in 1987 was the lowest one observed during the three years of the study, however, still is three times higher than the one reported in 1967. Traffic accidents did not show important fluctuations. Work accidents showed an increase from 0.8 to 2.0 for every 100.000 inhabitants. It can be observed that the group between 15-44 years of age has been the most affected by homicides and traffic accidents, while suicides, though with a considerably lower rate in magnitude, showed an increase in the mortality risk. It seems that 1986 was, for Cali, an exceptionally violent year. This year's mortality rate was considerably higher than the preceding and following years.