Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on excess maternal deaths in Brazil: A two-year assessment.

Background: Accurate estimates of the COVID-19 pandemic's indirect impacts are crucial, especially in low- and middle-income countries. This study aims to update estimates of excess maternal deaths in Brazil during the first two years of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This was an exploratory mixed ecological study using the counterfactual approach.

Relationship between the colours of the rivers in the Amazon and the incidence of malaria.

Background: Malaria is transmitted by different Anopheles species. In Brazil, the disease is concentrated in the Amazon region. Rivers play an important role in the life cycle of malaria since the vector reproduces in aquatic environments.

Excess maternal mortality in Brazil: Regional inequalities and trajectories during the COVID-19 epidemic.

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic has exceeded 6 million known disease-related deaths and there is evidence of an increase in maternal deaths, especially in low- and middle-income countries. We aimed to estimate excess maternal deaths in Brazil and its macroregions as well as their trajectories in the first 15 months of the COVID-19 epidemic.

Methods: This study evaluated maternal deaths from the Mortality Information System of the Ministry of Health, with excess deaths being assessed between March 2020 and May 2021 by quasi-Poisson generalized additive models adjusted for overdispersion.

[COVID-19 mortality in Brazil in different age groups: differentials between extreme rates in 2021 and 2022].

This ecological study evaluated the trajectory of COVID-19 mortality rates in Brazil and compared the extreme rates of 2022 and 2021, in different age groups. Data on deaths due to severe acute respiratory syndrome by COVID-19 were obtained from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System. Deaths were evaluated from January 10, 2021 to February 12, 2022, grouped into Epidemiological Weeks (EW).

Robbery Victimization in Early Adulthood, and Depression and Anxiety at Age 30 Years: Results From the 1982 Pelotas (Brazil) Birth Cohort Study.

Robbery is one of the most common urban crimes, but little is known about its relationship with mental disorders in young adults. This study aimed to assess the relationship between robbery victimization and Major Depressive Disorder (MDD), Generalized Anxiety Disorder (GAD) and comorbidity between MDD and GAD at 30 years of age. A birth cohort study has followed all children born in the city of Pelotas, southern Brazil, since 1982.

Food profile of Yanomami indigenous children aged 6 to 59 months from the Brazilian Amazon, according to the degree of food processing: a cross-sectional study.

Objective: The current study aimed to characterise the food profile of Yanomami indigenous children according to the degree of food processing and its associated factors.

Design: This is a cross-sectional study with Yanomami indigenous children aged 6 to 59 months. Socio-demographic, maternal and infant data were collected through a standardised questionnaire.

[Changes in the pattern of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths after substantial vaccination of the elderly in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil].

The impact of COVID-19 vaccination in the elderly has received relatively little attention, particularly in a scenario predominated by the gamma variant. The aim of this study was to assess vaccination coverage and its relationship to changes in the pattern of COVID-19 hospitalizations and deaths in the elderly in Manaus, Amazonas State, Brazil. This was an ecological study with Brazilian Ministry of Health data on hospitalizations and deaths, assessing vaccination coverage based on a two-dose regimen, in addition to two vaccination regimens associated with a significant protective effect, one partial (35 days or more after the first dose of the Oxford/AstraZeneca vaccine) and the other complete (14 days or more after the second dose of the Sinovac-CoronaVac vaccine).

Wildmeat consumption and child health in Amazonia.

Consuming wildmeat may protect against iron-deficiency anemia, a serious public health problem globally. Contributing to debates on the linkages between wildmeat and the health of forest-proximate people, we investigate whether wildmeat consumption is associated with hemoglobin concentration in rural and urban children (< 5 years old) in central Brazilian Amazonia. Because dietary practices mediate the potential nutritional benefits of wildmeat, we also examined whether its introduction into children's diets is influenced by rural/urban location or household socio-economic characteristics.

In-hospital case fatality ratio due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals and its possible temporal relationship with the Gamma variant, 2020-2021.

Objective: To describe in-hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) case fatality ratios due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals, during the months of epidemic peaks and previous months.

Methods: This was an ecological study using monthly data from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System, between 2020-2021, in individuals aged 20 years or older. Case fatality ratio and mortality rate were estimated with 95% confidence intervals (95%CI).

Intergenerational Association of Short Maternal Stature with Stunting in Yanomami Indigenous Children from the Brazilian Amazon.

To describe the factors associated to stunting in <5-year-old Yanomami Brazilian children, and to evaluate the association of short maternal stature to their offspring's stunting. A cross-sectional study carried out in three villages in the Yanomami territory. We performed a census, in which all households with children < 5-years-old were included.

[Excess deaths from respiratory causes in eight Brazilian metropolises during the first six months of the COVID-19 pandemic].

In Brazil, one of the countries most heavily affected by the COVID-19 pandemic, mortality data fail to reflect the real number of deaths from the disease. The study aimed to estimate excess deaths from respiratory causes and their trends during the first six month of the COVID-19 epidemic in adults 20 years or older in eight regional metropolises in Brazil. In this ecological study, deaths from respiratory causes (influenza, pneumonias, bronchitis, other chronic obstructive pulmonary diseases, acute or chronic respiratory failure, respiratory failure or respiratory disorder not otherwise specified, and other deaths coded with respiratory symptoms) were extracted from the Mortality Information System.

[Excess deaths during the COVID-19 pandemic: underreporting and regional inequalities in Brazil].

Brazil is one of the most heavily impacted countries by the COVID-19 pandemic, and the real number of deaths from the disease makes the scenario even more challenging. This study aimed to estimate the excess deaths and their differences in adults 20 years and older in Manaus (Amazonas State), Fortaleza (Ceará State), Rio de Janeiro, and São Paulo, according to place of death, demographic characteristics, and trajectory over time. The data were obtained from the Mortality Information System and the Central Information Office of the National Civil Registry.

Explosion in mortality in the Amazonian epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic 19.

Manaus, the capital of the Brazilian State of Amazonas, is the current epicenter of the COVID-19 epidemic in Amazonia. The sharp increase in deaths is a huge concern for health system administrators and society. The study aimed to analyze excess overall mortality according to Epidemiological Week (EW) in order to identify changes potentially associated with the epidemic in Manaus.

Urban violence and risk factors for femicide in the Brazilian Amazon.

Femicide has received relatively little research attention, despite its severity. Estimates of femicide depend on the strategies used to define it within the sociocultural and political context. This study aimed to assess intentional homicides of women, focusing on femicides, highlighting the characteristics and risk factors.

Association of severe stunting in indigenous Yanomami children with maternal short stature: clues about the intergerational transmission.

This study evaluates the nutritional status of children and women of an indigenous Yanomamigroup, and seeks to clarify associated factors. It was a cross-sectional study, carried out in 17 villages, in 2014. For evaluation of nutritional status we used 2006 growth standards to assign height-for-age (stunting)Z-scores (Z), weight-for-age Z (underweight) and weight-for-height Z (wasting and overweight), using the software WHO-Anthro and WHO-AnthroPlus.

Factors associated with TB in an indigenous population in Brazil: the effect of a cash transfer program.

The Mato Grosso do Sul State (MS) has the second-largest indigenous population and the highest incidence rates of TB among indigenous people in Brazil. However, little is known about the risk factors associated with active TB in indigenous people in the region, especially regarding socioeconomic factors. The aim of this study is to assess the effect of the Family Allowance Program (BFP) and of other predictors of active TB in a high-risk indigenous population in Brazil.

Human Mercury Exposure in Yanomami Indigenous Villages from the Brazilian Amazon.

In the Brazilian Amazon, where the majority of Yanomami villages are settled, mercury (Hg) exposure due to artisanal small-scale gold mining (ASGM) has been reported since the 1980s. This study assessed mercury exposure in the Yanomami reserve and whether the level of contamination was related to the ASGM geographical location. It was conducted using a cross-sectional study of 19 villages.