Journal of tropical pediatrics
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This is a study of years of potential life lost (YPLL) by children and adolescents aged between 1 month and 19 years who were victims of homicide in Recife during 1997. It also draws a profile of the victims. A descriptive, cross-sectional study was made of death certificates of Recife residents, aged between 1 month and 19 years, occurring during 1997, to identify homicides and the three other most frequent causes of death in the age group, in order to make a profile of homicide victims. ⋯ Homicides were responsible for 59.1 per cent of YPLL, followed by pneumonia, vehicle accidents and other accidents. The risk of losing years of potential life by homicide in the group studied was 27.20 in 1000. These figures show the magnitude of homicides as a cause of premature death and how they have become a public health problem.