Hospitalisations and fatality due to respiratory diseases according to a national database in Brazil: a longitudinal study.

Background: Respiratory diseases (RDs) cause millions of hospitalisations and deaths worldwide, resulting in economic and social impacts. Strategies for health promotion and disease prevention based on the epidemiological profile of the population may reduce hospital costs.

Aim: To characterise hospitalisations and deaths due to RDs in Brazilian adults above 20 years old between 2008 and 2021.

Methods: This ecological study used secondary data of hospitalisations and deaths due to RDs from the Hospital Information System of the Brazilian Unified Health System between 2008 and 2021. Data were grouped according to region, age group and sex. The period was divided into first (2008-2011), second (2012-2015) and third (2016-2019) quadrennia and one biennium (2020-2021), and all data were analysed using the GraphPad Prism; statistical significance was set at p<0.05.

Results: A total of 9 502 378 hospitalisations due to RDs were registered between 2008 and 2021. The south and southeast regions presented the highest hospitalisation and fatality rate, respectively, in the age group ≥80 years with no significant differences between sexes. Also, RDs caused 1 170 504 deaths, with a national fatality rate of 12.32%.

Conclusion: RDs affected the Brazilian population and impaired the health system, especially the hospital environment. The south/southeast regions were the most affected, and the ageing process contributed to the increased incidence of RDs.