Mortality and Years of Potential Life Lost Due to COVID-19 in Brazil

André Peres Barbosa de Castro, Marina Figueiredo Moreira, Paulo Henrique de Souza Bermejo, Waldecy Rodrigues and David Nadler Prata
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André Peres Barbosa de Castro: Department of Strategic Articulation of Health Surveillance, Secretariat of Health Surveillance, Ministry of Health, Brasília 70719-040, Brazil
Marina Figueiredo Moreira: Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Information Science, University of Brasilia, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil
Paulo Henrique de Souza Bermejo: Faculty of Economics, Administration, Accounting and Information Science, University of Brasilia, Brasília 70910-900, Brazil
Waldecy Rodrigues: Institute of Regional Development, Graduate Program of Computational Modelling, Federal University of Tocantins, Palmas 77001-090, Brazil
David Nadler Prata: Institute of Regional Development, Graduate Program of Computational Modelling, Federal University of Tocantins, Palmas 77001-090, Brazil

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-17

Abstract: In November 2020, Brazil ranked third in the number of cases of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) and second in the number of deaths due to the disease. We carried out a descriptive study of deaths, mortality rate, years of potential life lost (YPLL) and excess mortality due to COVID-19, based on SARS-CoV-2 records in SIVEP-Gripe (Ministry of Health of Brazil) from 16 February 2020, to 1 January 2021. In this period, there were 98,025 deaths from COVID-19 in Brazil. Men accounted for 60.5% of the estimated 1.2 million YPLLs. High YPLL averages showed prematurity of deaths. The population aged 45–64 years (both sexes) represented more than 50% of all YPLLs. Risk factors were present in 69.5% of deaths, with heart disease, diabetes and obesity representing the most prevalent comorbidities in both sexes. Indigenous people had the lowest number of deaths and the highest average YPLL. However, in indigenous people, pregnant women and mothers had an average YPLL of over 35 years. The excess mortality for Brazil was estimated at 122,914 deaths (9.2%). The results show that the social impacts of YPLL due to COVID-19 are different depending on gender, race and risk factors. YPLL and excess mortality can be used to guide the prioritization of health interventions, such as prioritization of vaccination, lockdowns, or distribution of facial masks for the most vulnerable populations.

Keywords: COVID-19; years of potential life lost; excess mortality (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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