Caracterização epidemiológica das mortes por doença de Chagas ocorridas no Brasil no período de 2010 a 2019

Chagas disease or American trypanosomiasis is an infection caused by the protozoan Trypanosoma cruzi transmitted by a triatomine insect. In infected individuals, this disease can compromise the heart or gastrointestinal tract and is potentially fatal. It is estimated that approximately 6 to 7 million people are infected with T. cruzi worldwide. Chagas disease represents a challenge mainly for public health in Latin America, where it is endemic in 21 countries, including Brazil. Therefore, this research aims to verify the mortality from Chagas Disease in Brazil during the years 2010 to 2019, through a cross-sectional descriptive study, using population-based data from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Ministry of Brazilian Health. During the analysis, it was found that in the period evaluated, 45,409 deaths were registered in the SIM in the five Brazilian regions. Regarding the reported cases, the predominant sociodemographic characteristics were: male (54.38%), aged between 70 and 79 years (28.02%), brown race/color (42.09%), and education < 8 years (45.47%). The results obtained indicate a relation between social vulnerability and the involvement of Chagas disease. In addition, it was evident that, despite advances, the number of deaths registered in Brazil remains at a very high level. The SIM proved to be an important tool for conducting epidemiological studies, however, some limitations were observed regarding the quality of the records, evidencing some flaws.