Impacto do racismo nos óbitos por doenças tropicais negligenciadas no Brasil

Abstract

Introduction: Neglected tropical diseases (NTDs) are infectious diseases that mainly affect populations in tropical regions, characterized by poverty and lack of health infrastructure. Objective: to analyze the impact of NTDs on the black population with a focus on the social determinants of health that amplify their vulnerability to these diseases. Material and methods: this is an ecological epidemiological study, analyzing deaths associated with 17 DNTs in Brazil between 2012 and 2022, covering 27 federative units and 5 macroregions. The data were extracted from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Information Technology Department of the Unified Health System (DATASUS), considering variables such as ICD-10, year and month of death, macro- region, federative unit, sex, age group and race/ color. Mortality rates were calculated based on the IBGE 2022 Census. Descriptive analyzes used absolute frequencies, percentages and means with standard deviation. The Chi-square test evaluated associations and frequencies between age group, race/color, and Correspondence Analysis generated perceptual maps. The significance level adopted was 5% with analyzes carried out using the JAMOVI software. Results: Between 2012 and 2022, 63,371 deaths from NTDs were recorded in Brazil, with Chagas disease being the main cause (48,205 deaths), followed by schistosomiasis (5,248) and dengue (3,975). There were no records of deaths from Buruli ulcer, fasciolosis, onchocerciasis, trachoma and yaws. The majority of victims were male (54.5%) and aged 60 or over (71.2%). Regarding race/color, 44.4% were mixed race, 37% white and 11.6% black. It was observed that mixed race and black people died at younger ages, while the majority of white people died at the age of 60 or older. Conclusion: The black population, despite sharing the same space and having health demands similar to those of the white population, faces early mortality associated with neglected tropical diseases.