Abstract
BackgroundA significant reduction in road traffic accidents has been observed since prevention measures were introduced by the French public authorities in 2002. The goals of this study are to describe the burden of road traffic accidents in a French Departement, and to identify changes if any between the periods 1997-2001 and 2002-2006 on the basis of the disability adjusted life years (DALY).MethodsYears of lost life (YLL) and years lived with disability (YLD) were calculated for two periods using the mortality and incidence data in the Rhone Departement Registry of Road Traffic Accident Casualties.ResultsYLD and YLL that are related to road traffic accidents are at their maximum value between 15 and 24 years of age. For men, intracranial fractures and intracranial injuries dominate, and for women it is spinal cord injuries that account for highest rates of YLD. A reduction in the rates of YLL and YLD has been observed for both genders and all age groups between 1997-2001 and 2002-2006.ConclusionThe reduction in DALY between the two periods is explained both by the reduction in the number of fatalities and injuries but also by an increase in the age at which they occur.
Highlights
A significant reduction in road traffic accidents has been observed since prevention measures were introduced by the French public authorities in 2002
Disability adjusted life years (DALY) are a summary measure of population health that aims to quantify the proportion of years of life that are lost in a population as a result of early death or disability [1]
The maximum per capita Years of lost life (YLL) rate was for the 15-24 year-old age group with 890 YLL per 100,000 for men and 171 YLL per 100,000 for women
Summary
A significant reduction in road traffic accidents has been observed since prevention measures were introduced by the French public authorities in 2002. The goals of this study are to describe the burden of road traffic accidents in a French Departement, and to identify changes if any between the periods 1997-2001 and 2002-2006 on the basis of the disability adjusted life years (DALY). Preventing injuries caused by road traffic accidents has been a major priority of the public authorities for several years. This has led to an increase in monitoring and enforcement measures, in particular by setting up automatic speed radars). Between 2002 and 2008, the number of deaths injuries decreased of 44.4% and 31.8% respectively, which correspond to an estimation of 12000 life saved for the 6 years [11]
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