Uso de Certificados de Defunción para Estimar las Muertes Laborales por Caídas desde Altura en la Industria de la Construcción en Ecuador, 2013–2023
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Las caídas desde altura (CDA) son una de las principales causas de muertes laborales en la industria de la construcción. En los países en desarrollo, la subnotificación en los registros de seguridad social limita el conocimiento preciso de la mortalidad ocupacional. Este estudio observacional y descriptivo analizó las muertes por CDA en el sector de la construcción en Ecuador entre 2013 y 2023, utilizando datos del Registro Estadístico de Defunciones Generales. Los casos se identificaron mediante los códigos CIE-10 (W11, W12, W13, W17, W19) con lugar de ocurrencia clasificado como construcción (.6). Se realizaron análisis descriptivos e inferenciales (prueba de Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.05) y se estimaron los años laborales de vida potencial perdidos (AVPP). Las muertes por CDA aumentaron hasta 2017 (14.0%), disminuyeron en 2020–2021 y repuntaron en 2022–2023. La mayoría ocurrieron en Pichincha (48.2%), principalmente por caídas desde andamios (W12, 65.5%). La edad media fue de 39.6 años (IC95%: 38.3–40.9). Se observaron diferencias significativas por causa (χ² = 9.74; p = 0.045), especialmente entre W11 y W13 (p = 0.040). Se estimaron 8,221 AVPP, en su mayoría por caídas desde andamios y edificios. Los resultados evidencian la alta carga de mortalidad y la necesidad de fortalecer las medidas preventivas, la supervisión y la cultura de seguridad en la construcción ecuatoriana.
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