Smoking-attributable mortality by sex in the 27 Brazilian federal units: 2019

Abstract

Objectives The aim of this study was to estimate smoking-attributable mortality (SAM) in the population aged 35 years and over in Brazil's 27 federal units by sex, in 2019.

Study design This is an attributable mortality analysis.

Methods We applied a method dependent on the prevalence of smoking, based on the population attributable fractions. Data on mortality due to causes causally related to smoking were derived from Brazil's Death Registry, data on prevalence of smoking from a survey conducted in Brazil in 2019, and data on relative risks from five US cohorts. Crude and age-adjusted SAM rates were calculated by sex. Estimates of SAM were calculated by specific causes of death and major mortality groups for each federal unit by sex.

Results In 2019, smoking caused 480 deaths per day in Brazil. Although the SAM varied among the federal units, the pattern is not clear, with the greatest difference being between Rio Grande do Sul (crude rate: 248.8/100,000 inhabitants) and Amazonas (106.0/100,000). When the rates were adjusted by age, the greatest differences were observed between Acre (271.1/100,000) and Distrito Federal (131.1/100,000). SAM was higher in males; however, while the main specific cause of SAM in men was ischemic heart disease, in women it was chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. The major mortality group having the greatest impact on SAM across all federal units was the cardiometabolic diseases.

Conclusions The variability in the burden of SAM in the different regions of Brazil reaffirms the need for SAM data disaggregated at the geographic level