Temporal trends in occupational mortality in Brazil, 2010-2019

Occupational accidents represent a severe and complex public health issue.

To identify temporal trends in occupational mortality in Brazil from 2010 to 2019.

This was an ecological study with time series analysis using data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health Mortality Information System (Ministério da Saúde/ Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade). The mortality rate was calculated using Prais-Winsten estimation.

In the study period, 34,683 work-related deaths were recorded in Brazil, with a higher occurrence among White (51.0%) men (94.3%) aged 20 to 39 years (44.8%). The highest proportion of deaths (16.5%) was identified in the state of São Paulo. Regarding sex, temporal trends were stable for both men (annual percentage change [APC] = -1.7; 95%CI -3.9 to 0.7) and women (APC = -0.8; 95%CI -1.8 to 0.2). The age groups up to 19 years (APC = -5.1; 95%CI -9.0 to l.l) and 20 to 39 years (APC = -3.3; 95%CI -6.0 to -0.5) showed a decreasing trend, while the remaining age groups showed a stable trend. Black race had a decreasing trend (APC = -8.1; 95%CI -10.7 to -5.5), while White (APC = -2.3; 95%CI -38.0 to 0.2) and mixed races (APC = -1.2; 95%CI -5.2 to 2.9) had a stable trend. Eight states showed a decreasing trend; only the state of Pará (APC = 2.1; 95%CI 0.8 to 3.4) showed an increasing trend, while the other states had a stable trend.

Temporal trends in occupational mortality were stable for most of the indicators evaluated. There is a lack of measures contributing to occupational safety and health in Brazil.