[Asthma mortality in the city of São Paulo, Brazil].
OBJECTIVE
To quantify and compare asthma mortality rates as the main cause of death, taking into consideration the following variables: sex, age and seasonality.


METHODS
Data was collected from all death certificates coded 493 of people aged 5 to 34 years in the periods of 1983-5 and 1993-5 in the city of São Paulo, SP, Brazil. Data analysis was performed by directly comparing death rates and identifying the odds ratio trend and directly comparing the numbers of asthma deaths.


RESULTS
There was no increase in asthma mortality rates for the study periods. There was no difference between men and women. A greater number of deaths in the age group 20 to 34 years were observed. Seasonality was more evident in the first period studied.


CONCLUSIONS
Differing from reports in other countries, the results did not show any increase in asthma mortality rates, The variable sex didn't seem to interfere with mortality. Deaths are more frequent among young adults, and their risk may be 9 times greater than that of young children. Deterioration of social and economic issues and health care services and even climatic changes may have been implicated in the absence of seasonality as a risk factor for asthma mortality. The disease by itself is not considered by many health professionals as critical in order to explain the chain of events that lead to death.
Rio
Evani Marzagão Beringhs
EM
Departamento de Saúde Materno-Infantil, Faculdade de Saúde Pública, Universidade de São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brasil. evani@beringhs.com.br
Gallo
Paulo Roberto
PR
Siqueira
Arnaldo A Franco de
AA
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001249:Asthma / Q000401:mortality*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017678:Sex Distribution
Mortalidade por asma no Município de São Paulo, Brasil.