Mortality due to violence: application of exploratory analysis techniques on data from an urban area of southeastern Brazil, 1979-1987

Abstract

An exploratory analysis of gross death rates due to external reasons was carried out in the area of the "Baixada Fluminense", and in the Rio de Janeiro city, covering the 1979 -1987 period. The main goal was to verify mortality trends in the area and period of time specified, in an attempt to investigate a premiss according to wich violence rates have been increasing. Results obtained have show that death rates presented tendency to a non-linear increase throughout this period. A decrease was observed from 1979 to 1983, followed by an increase, since 1984, on to a higher level.