Dados do Trabalho

Título

The Stroke and Ischemic Heart Disease disconnection: the numbers from Ceara, Brazil

Resumo

INTRODUCTION - Stroke and ischemic heart disease (IHD) are Brazil's leading causes of death. However, mortality rates have declined for both diseases since the 70s. This has been more pronounced in regions with higher socioeconomic status (mainly in the southeast and south), probably due to better control of risk factors, access to health care services, and treatment of hypertension and diabetes through national government programs. There are very few epidemiological studies on stroke and IHD mortality trends in regions with lower socioeconomic status, such as the Northeast.
OBJECTIVE - This study aimed to investigate the trend of mortality rates from stroke and IHD in Ceará, a state with low socioeconomic status in Northeast Brazil, from 2009 to 2019.
METHODS - The mortality data were obtained from the Brazilian Mortality Information System made available by the National Health Ministry. The mortality rate estimates, expressed as the number of deaths per 100 000 inhabitants, were calculated for each year—population estimates derived from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). The proportion of deaths caused by stroke and ischemic heart disease was also calculated, and statistical significance was tested.
RESULTS - A consistent decline in stroke mortality was observed from 2009 to 2019 (10,0%, 9,9%, 9,5%, 9,2%, 8,9%, 8,3%, 8,5%, 8,7%, 8,2%, 7,5% and 7,5%; p<0.001) but the coronary heart disease mortality increased consistently over the years studied (8,0%, 7,7%, 8,1%, 8,5%, 8,0%, 8,1%, 8,4%, 8,8%, 8,5%, 9,6% and 9,5%; p<0.001).
CONCLUSION - Stroke is no longer the leading cause of death among non-communicable diseases in Ceará, overtaken by ischemic heart disease, which has shown a consistent increase in recent years. Population-based epidemiological studies are necessary to clarify why mortality rates exhibit such a different tendency in diseases that share most risk factors.

Palavras Chave

Stroke, Ischemic Heart Disease, Mortality