[Race and stroke mortality in Brazil]

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Health Disparities

Background:

• Stroke mortality data by race was previously unavailable in Brazil.
• Understanding these disparities is crucial for targeted public health interventions.

Purpose of the Study:

• To determine cerebrovascular mortality rates by race and sex in Brazil.
• To identify and quantify racial differences in stroke mortality.

Main Methods:

• Utilized mortality data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health's Information System for the year 2010.
• Calculated age-adjusted cerebrovascular mortality rates per 100,000 population with 95% confidence intervals.
• Stratified analysis by sex and race/skin color.

Main Results:

• Significant differences in stroke mortality were observed across racial groups for both men and women.
• Black men had higher rates (63.3 per 100,000) than white (44.4) and brown (48.2) men.
• Black women also showed higher rates (51.0 per 100,000) compared to white (29.0) and brown (33.7) women.

Conclusions:

• The burden of stroke mortality is disproportionately higher among Black Brazilians compared to Brown and White Brazilians.
• These findings underscore significant racial inequities in cerebrovascular disease outcomes in Brazil.
• Urgent public health strategies are needed to address these disparities.