Latin American Clinical Epidemiology Network Series - Paper 5: Years of life lost due to premature death in traffic accidents in Bogota, Colombia.

OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to quantify the number of years of life lost in traffic accidents in Bogota, Colombia. STUDY DESIGN AND SETTING: The years of life lost were calculated using the 'age-standardized expected years of life lost' method, the table of Japanese adjusted life expectancy and the database of the Institute of Legal Medicine and Forensic Science between September 2012 and August 2013. RESULTS: During a period of 1 year, 430 people died and 10,056.3 years of life were lost in Bogota due to traffic accidents. CONCLUSION: The mortality burden of traffic accidents in Bogota is high. Further studies are required in order to characterize the accidents and develop effective policy decisions.