Epidemiological Analysis of Infant Deaths from Respiratory Infections and the Influence of Socioeconomic Factors
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Abstract
Objective: To analyze the epidemiological profile of deaths from respiratory infections and detect correlations with socioeconomic factors in Brazil.
Methods: This is an analytical ecological epidemiological study of child deaths from respiratory infections between 2014 and 2023 in Brazil. The data was obtained from the Mortality Information System. Death incidence rates, multinomial logistic regressions, and Pearson and Spearman correlations were calculated.
Results: A total of 25,729 deaths were detected, the majority caused by unspecified pneumonia. Higher incidences of death were found in breastfeeding infants, in males, in mixed ethnic groups and in children of mothers aged between 20 and 29 years and with a primary level of education. Correlations were found between deaths from acute bronchiolitis in Brazil and the human development index (R = 0.916), the Gini index (R = 0.883) and human resources (R = 0.988) in the pre-pandemic period. High odds ratios of death from influenza and pneumonia were observed among black children (OR: 2.23) and indigenous children (OR: 1.45) during the COVID-19 pandemic, respectively.
Conclusions: In Brazil, most deaths from respiratory infections were not confirmed by complementary tests. In addition, the predominance of deaths, especially in vulnerable pediatric populations, may indicate that the deaths were influenced by socioeconomic factors.
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