Non-communicable diseases in Brazil: a flood of data is coming!

Abstract

FIRST DATA-GENERATION PERIODOver the last two or three decades, academic researchers within health sciences frequently complained about the "drought" of information concerning chronic diseases in Brazil. This comment, by qualified physicians and scientists, was made much more frequently than would be justified by the reality of epidemiological production relating to non-communicable diseases, albeit restricted to mortality data and surveys. Even though both mortality data and surveys present relatively limited scope for reaching conclusions, the data produced were enough to understand some aspects of the epidemiological profile of chronic diseases in Brazil.The mortality data was sufficiently accurate to show that a decline in cardiovascular diseases was occurring in Brazil, in contrast with other countries with the same level of economic development.1 In addition, survey data made it possible to ascertain the following points: (1) premature heart disease rates in Brazil were higher than in affluent countries; 2 (2) cancer mortality among Japanese descendants in São Paulo showed differences according to the generation of migration, compared with individuals living in Japan; 3 (3) Brazil had the highest death rate due to stroke in the Western world; 4 (4) the burden of cardiovascular diseases was inversely associated with formal education levels among Brazilian municipalities; 5 (5) the decline in the risk of death due to heart disease was not taking place uniformly, such that the pace was slower among people living in the poorest neighborhoods, compared with the wealthiest ones in São Paulo; 6 and (6) the impact of the smoking habit on all causes of death in Brazil.7

Perceptions of risk factors associated with coronary disease

“…12% were diabetics, only 80% with medications, 14.5% had dyslipidemia, 18.9% of men were active smokers as so as 11% of women. It was also noticed that the mortality due to CVD among blacks was higher than in other races in Brazil (Lotufo;Lotufo, 2015).…”