Potential years of life lost due to deaths by external causes: Differentials based on race/skin color

Introduction:  The deaths by External Causes (CE) represent one of the most important challenges for Public Health.  They are the second cause of death in Brazil and are most prevalent among Black youths.  However, studies considering the race/color of skin variable are scare in the country.  Objective:  To analyze the differentials in mortality by CE in Salvador (Ba), according to the race/color of the victims.  Methods:  A descriptive study whose data were based upon deaths together with the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and the Nina Rodrigues Forensic Medicine Institute.  The indicator of Potential Years of Life Lost (PYLL) was utilized to verify the existence of differences among population groups. Results:  The deaths by CE caused the loss of 339.220 years of Potential Years of Life, of which 210,000 were due to homicides. Black individuals died at earlier ages and lost 12.2 times as much Potential Years of Life than White individuals.  Though the black population (pardos and pretos) is three times larger than the white population, the number of PYLL is 30 times greater; the population of blacks (only pretos in this case) was 11.4 % smaller than the white population, however its PYLL was almost three times greater.  Even after the adjustment for age, they maintained the differences observed in the APVP/100,000 inhabitants.  Further, the differences observed in the ratios between classes of this indicator according to race/color when compared with the whites were shown to be statistically significant.  Conclusion:  In Salvador, the differences in mortality by CE according to race/color of skin were accented, the black population being more penalized. Such information should be considered in the planning of actions focused on the overcoming social disparities in health.