Asthma mortality in southern Brazil: is there a changing trend?
BACKGROUND
Mortality from asthma increased during the last decades but is now declining in some countries. Little is known about this trend in Brazil.


OBJECTIVE
The objective of the study was to determine the trends in asthma mortality in Southern Brazil.


METHODS
We reviewed death certificates of 566 people in the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, between 5 and 39 years of age in whom asthma was reported to be the underlying cause of death during the period of 1981-2003. Population data were available in 5-year age groups. Mortality rates were submitted to linear and quadratic regression procedures.


RESULTS
Among children and teenagers (5-19 years), there were 170 asthma deaths, ranging from 4 to 13 deaths each year with rates of 0.154/100,000 to 0.481/100,000. In young adults (20-39 years), 396 asthma deaths occurred, ranging from 9 to 32 each year, with rates from 0.276/100,000 to 1.034/100,000. There was an initial increase in rates, with later stabilization, and then the start of a decline beginning in the late 1990s and the early part of this decade. This trend occurred in both age subgroups examined but was more evident in males.


CONCLUSIONS
Asthma mortality in southern Brazil remains low and appears to be decreasing after reaching a peak in the mid-1990s. The reason for these trends remains unknown.
Chatkin
Gustavo
G
School of Medicine, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul (PUCRS), Porto Alegre RS 90610-000.
Chatkin
Jose Miguel
JM
Fritscher
Carlos Cezar
CC
Cavalet-Blanco
Daniela
D
Bittencourt
Helio Radke
HR
Sears
Malcolm R
MR
D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001249:Asthma / Q000401:mortality*; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009026:Mortality / Q000639:trends; D012189:Retrospective Studies