OBJECTIVE: To assess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic according to social vulnerability by areas of Belo Horizonte (BH), aiming at strategies for vaccination. METHODS: Ecological study with mortality analysis according to census tracts classified by the Health Vulnerability Index, a composite indicator that includes socioeconomic and sanitation variables. Deaths by natural causes and by COVID-19 were obtained from the "Mortality Information System", between the 10th and 43rd epidemiological weeks (EW) of 2020. Excess mortality was calculated in a time series model, considering observed and expected deaths per EW, between 2015 and 2019, per census tracts. Mortality rates (MR) were calculated and age-standardized using population estimates from the 2010 census, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). RESULTS: Excess mortality in BH was 16.1% (n = 1,524): 11, 18.8 and 17.3% in low, intermediate and high vulnerability areas, respectively. The differences between observed and expected age-standardized MR by natural causes were equal to 59/100,000 inhabitants in BH, increasing from 31 to 77 and 95/100,000 inhabitants in the areas of low, intermediate and high vulnerability, respectively. There was an aging gradient in MR by COVID-19, ranging from 4 to 611/100,000 inhabitants among individuals aged 20-39 years and 75+ years. The COVID-19 MR per 100,000 older adults (60+ years) was 292 in BH, increasing from 179 to 354 and 476, in low, intermediate and high vulnerability areas, respectively. CONCLUSION: Inequalities in mortality, particularly among older adults, combined with the limited supply of doses, demonstrate the importance of prioritizing socially vulnerable areas during vaccination against COVID-19.
OBJECTIVE: To assess mortality during the COVID-19 pandemic according to social vulnerability by areas of Belo Horizonte (BH), aiming at strategies for vaccination. METHODS: Ecological study with mortality analysis according to census tracts classified by the Health Vulnerability Index, a composite indicator that includes socioeconomic and sanitation variables. Deaths by natural causes and by COVID-19 were obtained from the "Mortality Information System", between the 10th and 43rd epidemiological weeks (EW) of 2020. Excess mortality was calculated in a time series model, considering observed and expected deaths per EW, between 2015 and 2019, per census tracts. Mortality rates (MR) were calculated and age-standardized using population estimates from the 2010 census, by the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). RESULTS: Excess mortality in BH was 16.1% (n = 1,524): 11, 18.8 and 17.3% in low, intermediate and high vulnerability areas, respectively. The differences between observed and expected age-standardized MR by natural causes were equal to 59/100,000 inhabitants in BH, increasing from 31 to 77 and 95/100,000 inhabitants in the areas of low, intermediate and high vulnerability, respectively. There was an aging gradient in MR by COVID-19, ranging from 4 to 611/100,000 inhabitants among individuals aged 20-39 years and 75+ years. The COVID-19 MR per 100,000 older adults (60+ years) was 292 in BH, increasing from 179 to 354 and 476, in low, intermediate and high vulnerability areas, respectively. CONCLUSION: Inequalities in mortality, particularly among older adults, combined with the limited supply of doses, demonstrate the importance of prioritizing socially vulnerable areas during vaccination against COVID-19.
Authors: Luisa C C Brant; Pedro C Pinheiro; Antonio L P Ribeiro; Isis E Machado; Paulo R L Correa; Mayara R Santos; Maria de Fatima Marinho de Souza; Deborah C Malta; Valéria M A Passos Journal: Glob Heart Date: 2022-02-21
Authors: Cesar R Mota; Thiago Bressani-Ribeiro; Juliana C Araújo; Cíntia D Leal; Deborah Leroy-Freitas; Elayne C Machado; Maria Fernanda Espinosa; Luyara Fernandes; Thiago L Leão; Lucas Chamhum-Silva; Lariza Azevedo; Thiago Morandi; Gabriel Tadeu O Freitas; Michelle S Costa; Beatriz O Carvalho; Marcus Tulius P Reis; Marília C Melo; Sergio R Ayrimoraes; Carlos A L Chernicharo Journal: Water Res Date: 2021-06-26 Impact factor: 11.236