Premature deaths in the state of Bahia: adolescent mortality and the role of external causes

Abstract

OBJECTIVE: To identify the behavior and trends of adolescent mortality in the State of Bahia, from 1989 to 2016. METHODS: Ecological study of temporal trends with public domain data extracted from the Department of Information Technology of the Unified Health System and the Health Information Directorate of the Superintendence of Surveillance and Health Protection of the State of Bahia, with analysis based on Specific Mortality Coefficients through linear regression, Student’s t-test, F (ANOVA) and Bonferroni test. RESULTS: The Specific Mortality Coefficient (SMC) of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years was higher than the coefficient of 10 to 14 years. There is excess mortality in males, where the East, Far South and South regions stood out for the number of cases. External causes remained in first place in both age groups throughout the study period, with assaults being the main cause of death. CONCLUSION: Attacks and high mortality in Bahia are an alarming indicator that reflects the need to establish effective strategies aimed at preventing early deaths in this population group.