How many years of life would be gained in the absence of mortality due to external causes and homicides? an analysis of 5 metropolitan areas of Brazil

Abstract

The main objective of this article was to evaluate how much is gained, in years of life, in the absence of the deaths due to external causes and homicides. We compared men and women, according to age group, of five metropolitan areas of Brazil (Belo Horizonte, Porto Alegre, Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo), in the year 2000. To generate the life expectancies and to measure the gains in years of life we used a life table of multiple decrements. The data had been collected in Datasus (mortality) and IBGE (population). Our results showed that life expectancies in the metropolitan areas of Recife, Rio de Janeiro and São Paulo are more vulnerable to external causes and homicides. In Recife metropolitan area, for example, in the absence of the deaths by external causes, the male life expectancy at birth would increase by 4.22 years. We conclude that the deaths due to external causes and homicides, in the main metropolitan areas of Brazil, are causing people, mainly young males, to live less than they could