An Epidemiologic Study of Deceased Pedestrians in Road Traffic Accidents in Iran during 2012-2013

Applying count time series to assess 13-year pedestrian mortality trend caused by traffic accidents in East-Azerbaijan province, Iran

In populated cities, pedestrian mortality is higher compared to other traffic mortalities. The current study aimed to describe the trend of pedestrian mortality in the East-Azerbaijan (Northwest of Iran) province from 2006 to 2019 and find the factors that affect the mortality number. Pedestrian mortality data from March 2006 to March 2019 was obtained from the Legal Medicine Organization database of Iran. Generalized Linear Auto Regressive Moving Average (GLARMA) models were used to assess the trend, and affecting factors of pedestrian mortality. According to the traffic accident data from 21 March 2006 until 20 March 2019 in East-Azerbaijan 24.11% of mortalities are related to pedestrians. Pedestrian mortality had a decreasing seasonal trend during 2006-2019. The result of the GLARMA model showed that age >65, being non-educated, cases with head trauma death cause, pre-hospital death, accident inside the city, vehicle type and self-employed jobs had a direct relation to pedestrian's mortality.

Spatial analysis of mortality rate of pedestrian accidents in Iran during 2012-2013

Objectives: Considering the high mortality rate of pedestrians in traffic accidents in Iran, the present study aimed to determine the high-risk and low-risk areas of accidents resulting in pedestrian deaths and the spatial analysis of their mortality rates. Methods: This cross-sectional study included 4,371 deceased pedestrians reported by the Legal Medicine Organization in Iran from March 2012 to March 2013. For spatial analysis, the collected data were entered into ArcGIS software version 10.2 and a spatial map of the mortality rate was drawn according to the distribution of data in the provinces. Using this software, high-risk and low-risk areas were identified by calculating the spatial autocorrelation of the data. The Moran's index of road accident patterns was surveyed and high-risk and low-risk points were identified using the local Getis index. Results: The age-standardized incidence rate was 6.8 per 100,000. After analyzing the data using ArcGIS software, the local Moran's index showed a cluster pattern with a high mortality rate in 3 provinces of Mazandaran, Gilan, and Qazvin. In identifying high-risk and low-risk points, the local Getis index showed 3 hot spots with a confidence interval of 99% in Qom, Qazvin, and Mazandaran and 5 hot spots with a 95% confidence interval in Markazi, Tehran, Zanjan, Gilan, and Golestan provinces. Conclusions: According to the cluster pattern of accidents in the 3 provinces and the presence of hot spots in 9 provinces, it is necessary to identify factors that increase the risk of death in the study provinces in order to reduce the mortality rate among pedestrians due to traffic accidents. Therefore, to reduce the pedestrian mortality rate, especially in high-risk provinces, some studies need to be conducted to determine the risk factors in pedestrian mortality.