EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ASPECTS OF TRAFFIC ACCIDENTS IN THE MUNICIPALITY OF UBERLANDIA, STATE OF MINAS GERAIS, 2000

Wordwide, the traffic accident (TA) have been considered one of the most important problems of the public health. Traffic accident have still prevail in the "unnatural causes of death" list in most capitals and medium sized cities in Brazil. In Uberlandia (MG), the number of traffic-related deaths and morbity increased since 70's. The study population was composed of 900 victims of road accidents wich occured in Uberlandia drafted from 3465 records of victims of TA treated in Hospital de Clinicas de Uberlandia. The majority of victims were motorcyclists (37,67%), followed by car occupants (30,44%). Males (77,78%), youths (56,46%) and singles (68,65%) are the most commons victims. The majority bycicle accidents occurred between 10 and 30 years of age (56,64%). The most of victims received emergency care between 6 p. m. and 12 p. m. and the day of the week was not so important.