Mortality from Infectious and Parasitic Diseases of the Elderly Brazilian Population

Neir A. Paes, Federal University of Paraiba

During the last decades, the distribution of mortality from infectious and parasitic diseases (IPD) in Brazil was marked by a considerable decline, however, for the elderlys, the levels of mortality remained practically stable. This article outlines the main changes in the mortality patterns examining trends, differentials and determinants of the IPD of the elderly in Brazil and in its states by sex and age groups, and explores its associations with socioeconomic indicators in the period from 1980 to 1995, which was accomplished through the use of the multiple lineal regression. The ecological analysis of province-level data revealed a significant association with some socioeconomic indicators. The results showed a decrease of the participation of the lung tuberculosis and Chagas diseases and an important increase of the septicemy. But, as a whole, the trends suggest a stabilized control of the IPD in Brazil despite the economic deceleration in the period.