Time-trends in violence

Interpersonal violence is currently the 2nd leading cause of years of life lost in Brazil, after heart disease. However, serious violence was not always so common. In the city of Pelotas, where we conduct our research, homicide rates were comparable to European levels in the early 1980s, but increased about 30 times during the last 35 years. We are using repeat cross-sectional surveys, and the four Pelotas birth cohort studies to monitor changes in rates of violence through time, and investigate possible determinants of these striking time trends.

Funding: Wellcome Trust