An Epidemiologic Study of Traffic Accidents in Behbahan City during 2006-2014

Introduction and Progress and technology have improved the management of infectious diseases and life expectancy on the one hand, and increased the prevalence of non-communicable diseases on the other. Today, the most serious challenges people face are accidents and toxicities, particularly traffic accidents that account for 12% of the global burden of disease and are the third leading cause of premature death in Iran. Accordingly, we performed an epidemiologic study on traffic accidents in Behbahan city, Iran, during 2006-2014.
This retrospective, descriptive, and cross-sectional study was performed among the victims of traffic accidents that were referred to the emergency department of Behbahan hospital in Behbahan city. Patient information including age and gender were collected and analyzed using SPSS 17.
During 2006-2014, a total of 55,108 casualties were recorded in Behbahan city, 26,798 (48.5%) of which were caused by traffic accidents. Car accidents, motorist accidents, and pedestrian accidents accounted for 30.9%, 58.8%, and 10.3% of the accidents. The prevalence rate of traffic accidents was 14 in 1000 cases, and the mortality rate was 29 in 100,000 cases. During this period, 7,814 cases of mortality were recorded, 826 (10.6%) of which were associated with accidents with traffic accidents accounting for 520 cases (62.9%). Further, 40% of the mortalities due to traffic accidents occurred on the scene of accident, while transferring to hospital, or in the casualty department.
The findings of this study showed that traffic accidents, casualties and mortalities, especially motorist accidents, are a major health and social problem in Behbahan city. Thus, taking the necessary measures to control and manage this major health threat is andatory.