Situación de los accidentes de tránsito en Guatemala: 2019 a 2023

Introduction: Traffic accidents mostly affect people of working age, impacting the economy of nations. Guatemala is among the countries with high morbidity and mortality rates in young men. The current state of the health system presents difficulties in reducing the effects of traffic accidents on the population. Objective: To describe the morbidity and mortality situation due to traffic accidents in Guatemala from 2019 to 2023. Method: A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted on the sociodemographic characteristics of the injured and deceased, as well as the type and location of the traffic event, using descriptive statistics and existing data from the National Institute of Statistics website. Results: Data from 51,276 victims were analyzed, including injured (81%) and deceased (19.3%). Seventy-four percent were male between 20 and 24 years old, and collision was the most frequent type of event. The department of Guatemala reported the highest frequency of events in the last three years. Conclusions: The number of traffic accident victims is high during the years studied; the scarcity of health services and the lack of coordination for recording traffic accident data represent significant challenges for the health system.