Temporal trends in occupational mortality in Brazil, 2010-2019

TL;DR

This study examines changes in work-related deaths in Brazil from 2010 to 2019, finding mostly stable trends despite some decreases in specific groups.

Contribution

The study provides a detailed analysis of occupational mortality trends across demographic and geographic groups in Brazil.

Findings

Most demographic groups showed stable occupational mortality trends over the study period.

Significant decreases were observed among Black individuals and younger age groups.

Only the state of Pará showed an increasing trend in occupational mortality.

Abstract

Occupational accidents represent a severe and complex public health issue.

To identify temporal trends in occupational mortality in Brazil from 2010 to 2019.

This was an ecological study with time series analysis using data from the Brazilian
Ministry of Health Mortality Information System (Ministério da Saúde/
Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade). The mortality rate was
calculated using Prais-Winsten estimation.

In the study period, 34,683 work-related deaths were recorded in Brazil, with a higher
occurrence among White (51.0%) men (94.3%) aged 20 to 39 years (44.8%). The highest
proportion of deaths (16.5%) was identified in the state of São Paulo. Regarding
sex, temporal trends were stable for both men (annual percentage change [APC] = -1.7;
95%CI -3.9 to 0.7) and women (APC = -0.8; 95%CI -1.8 to 0.2). The age groups up to 19
years (APC = -5.1; 95%CI -9.0 to l.l) and 20 to 39 years (APC = -3.3; 95%CI -6.0 to
-0.5) showed a decreasing trend, while the remaining age groups showed a stable trend.
Black race had a decreasing trend (APC = -8.1; 95%CI -10.7 to -5.5), while White (APC =
-2.3; 95%CI -38.0 to 0.2) and mixed races (APC = -1.2; 95%CI -5.2 to 2.9) had a stable
trend. Eight states showed a decreasing trend; only the state of Pará (APC = 2.1;
95%CI 0.8 to 3.4) showed an increasing trend, while the other states had a stable
trend.

Temporal trends in occupational mortality were stable for most of the indicators
evaluated. There is a lack of measures contributing to occupational safety and health in
Brazil.