Hepatitis mortality in Brazil and regions, 2001-2020: temporal trend and spatial analysis

To analyze the spatial distribution and the temporal trend of the hepatitis mortality rate in Brazil from 2001 to 2020.

Ecological, temporal, and spatial study on mortality from hepatitis in Brazil with data from the Mortality Information System (Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade - SIM/DATASUS). Information was stratified by year of diagnosis, region of the country, municipalities (of residence). Standardized mortality rates (SMR) were calculated. The temporal trend was estimated by Prais-Winsten regression and the spatial distribution by the Global Moran Index (GMI).

The highest SMR means in Brazil were for Chronic viral hepatitis with 0.88 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants (SD=0.16), followed by Other viral hepatitis with 0.22/100,000 (SD=0.11). In Brazil, the temporal trend of mortality from Hepatitis A was -8.11% per year (95%CI -9.38; -6.82), while for Hepatitis B it was -4.13% (95%CI -6.03; -2.20), of Other viral hepatitis of -7.84% (95%CI -14.11; -1.11) and of Unspecified Hepatitis -5.67% per year (95%CI -6.22; -5.10). Mortality due to chronic viral hepatitis increased by 5.74% (95%CI 3.47; 8.06) in the North and 4.95% in the Northeast (95%CI 0.27; 9.85). The Moran Index (I) for Hepatitis A was 0.470 (p<0.001), for Hepatitis B 0.846 (p<0.001), Chronic viral hepatitis=0.666 (p<0.001), other viral hepatitis=0.713 (p<0.001), and Unspecified Hepatitis=0.712 (p<0.001).

The temporal trend of hepatitis A, B, other viral, and unspecified hepatitis was decreasing in Brazil, while mortality from chronic hepatitis was increasing in the North and Northeast.