Covid-19 in Brazil in 2020: impact on deaths from cancer and cardiovascular diseases

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Epidemiology
• Cardiovascular Research

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic significantly disrupted healthcare systems globally in 2020.
• Understanding its impact on non-COVID-19 mortality, particularly for cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD), is crucial for public health.
• Brazil, with its diverse regions, provides a unique setting to study these effects.

Purpose of the Study:

• To analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on mortality from cancer and cardiovascular diseases (CVD) in Brazil during 2020.
• To examine these impacts both as underlying causes of death and as comorbidities.
• To assess regional variations in mortality patterns across Brazil.

Main Methods:

• Utilized the 2019 and 2020 databases from Brazil's Mortality Information System (SIM).
• Analyzed deaths from March to December of each year, focusing on cancer and CVD as underlying causes or comorbidities.
• Calculated Standardized Mortality Ratios (SMR) and excess deaths, using 2019 data as the baseline.

Main Results:

• Between March-December 2020, Brazil observed reductions in cancer (9.7%) and CVD (8.8%) deaths compared to 2019.
• Cancer and CVD as comorbidities showed a proportional excess of 82.1% and 77.9%, respectively, in 2020 deaths.
• The Northern Region exhibited the most significant excess mortality, with a 2.5 ratio for observed vs. expected deaths for these conditions.

Conclusions:

• The observed reduction in cancer and CVD as primary causes of death warrants further investigation.
• The significant excess of cancer and CVD as comorbidities suggests a substantial impact of COVID-19 on vulnerable patient groups.
• These findings highlight the indirect mortality burden of the pandemic, particularly for individuals with pre-existing conditions.