Sex Differences in Diabetes Mellitus Mortality Trends in Brazil, 1980-2012

To investigate the hypothesis that the change from the female predominance of diabetes mellitus to a standard of equality or even male preponderance can already be observed in Brazilian mortality statistics.

Data on deaths for which diabetes mellitus was listed as the underlying cause were obtained from the Brazilian Mortality Information System for the years 1980 to 2012. The mortality data were also analyzed according to the multiple causes of death approach from 2001 to 2012. The population data came from the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics. The mortality rates were standardized to the world population. We used a log-linear joinpoint regression to evaluate trends in age-standardized mortality rates (ASMR).

From 1980 to 2012, we found a marked increment in the diabetes ASMR among Brazilian men and a less sharp increase in the rate among women, with the latter period (2003-2012) showing a slight decrease among women, though it was not statistically significant.

The results of this study suggest that diabetes mellitus in Brazil has changed from a pattern of higher mortality among women compared to men to equality or even male predominance.