ABSTRACT
Introduction Road traffic injuries (RTI) are among the ten leading causes of death worldwide, and they are the leading cause of death among young adults aged 15-29 years. In Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH), with population of 2,1 million, around 380 people die every year and additional 11.000 get seriously injured in RTI. Aim The aim of this study was to investigate the incidence and fatality rate of RTI in FBiH in the period of 2006 until the end of 2020. Methods Data source of RTI (ICD-X) incidence and fatality rate was Statistical book for Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, which includes all injuries and deaths reported through Ministry of internal affairs. Fatality rate was calculated as number of confirmed deaths in total number of reported RTI. To compare frequencies of reported deaths Chi square test was used. YLD were calculated based on information on injury that was caused in road traffic accidents. Results In the last 15 years, in FBiH, total 39,455 injuries related to road traffic were reported. According to the official data, over the period 2006-2020 the peak of fatality rate (8.52% deaths among all cases with RTI) was in 2016, while it had a statistically significant decline in 2018: 6.51%;2019: 6.35%;and 2020: 6.32% (x2=7728,584;p < 0,0001). It is estimated that young adults (in the age group 30 to 39 years) injured in the road traffic accidents have 197.01 patient-years of total 881.17 years to live with disabilities just based on serious RTI in 2020. Conclusions RTI pose a significant burden on the health of the population in FBiH. After implementing strict laws in the year 2017, and 2018, a significant decrease of RTI was registered, including the number of deaths due to RTI (fatality rate). This is support and sponsorship by ‘BoCO-19 - The Burden of Disease due to COVID-19'. Project is coordinated/led by Robert Koch Institute and supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Key messages • RTI are significant burden for health of population in FBH. Strict laws and stronger punishments and fees are decreasing number of RTI. • This is support and sponsorship by ‘BoCO-19 - The Burden of Disease due to COVID-19'. Project is coordinated/led by Robert Koch Institute and supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe.
ABSTRACT
Background Mortality data are essential for monitoring population health and is one of the most important data for evaluation and comparison of health status at the local, national, and international level. Objective: We analysed all-cause mortality data in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina (FBiH) for the period 2016-2021 and compared it with mortality occurred during the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2020 and 2021. Methods Using data on all-cause deaths for the period 2016-2021, obtained from the Institute for Statistics of the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, we compared annual number of deaths (all-ages) and death rates during the 2020 and 2021 to pre-pandemic years. Results In 2016 the reported number of death was 21,146, in 2017 was 21,942, in 2018 was 21,691, and in 2019 was 22,024, and during the pandemic period in 2020 and 2021, 26,026 and 29,086 deaths were reported respectively. In 2020, 4,115 more deaths has been reported (15,8%), and in 2021 more 6,438 death (22,1%) compared with period 2016-2019. In FBiH in 2021, the death rate per 100,000 inhabitants was 1,341.2 and it is recorded an increase compared to 2020 when it had a value of 1,208.3 while in 2016 the value was 951.7. Conclusions A large proportion of increased mortality during pandemic was probably caused directly by COVID-19. However, the pandemic also resulted in deaths that would otherwise not have occurred (indirect deaths) due lack of access to medical services when hospitals were overwhelmed and changes in health seeking behaviour. An in-depth investigation of the underlying causes of the high excess mortality should be conducted to inform changes in the health care system and efforts to prevent severe COVID-19 through vaccination of vulnerable groups should be a priority. *This is support by ‘BoCO-19 - The Burden of Disease due to COVID-19'. Project is coordinated/led by Robert Koch Institute and supported by the WHO Regional Office for Europe. Key messages • During the two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, population in FBiH had a significant increase in all-cause mortality. • The direct standardized death rate for all causes and age groups per 100,000 inhabitants in 2020 for FBiH was 818.0 and it is slightly higher compared to the EU average.