DEMENTIA: EPIDEMIOLOGICAL PROFILE IN BRAZIL IN 2023

• DOI: https://doi.org/10.22533/at.ed.15947324050810

• Palavras-chave: dementia; neurology; epidemiology.

• Keywords: Dementia, Neurology, Epidemiology

• Abstract:

  Introduction: Dementia is a term used to describe a set of symptoms that affect brain functions, such as problems with memory, reasoning, language and behavior. It is a chronic and progressive condition, that is, it worsens over time and has no cure, although there are treatment options to alleviate the signs and symptoms. Dementia can be caused by several conditions, with Alzheimer's disease being the most common form, accounting for around 80 to 90% of cases, followed by vascular dementia, dementia with Lewy bodies and other less common forms. The condition is the leading cause of morbidity among the elderly. Objective: To describe the epidemiological profile of hospitalizations and deaths due to dementia in the Brazilian population in the year 2023. Methodology: This is a descriptive, observational, cross-sectional, quantitative and retrospective study, carried out by analyzing hospital morbidity indicators from the Information System Hospital (SIH) of the SUS (unified health system) Information and IT Department (DATASUS). Variables such as sex, age group, color/race, federative unit and region were analyzed from January to December 2023. Results: The total number of hospitalizations in 2023 was 3,360, with a total number of deaths of 445 and a mortality rate of 13.24%. 
   
  There is a prevalence among females with 1,709 hospitalizations and 268 deaths compared to males who had 1,651 hospitalizations and 177 deaths. The age group of 80 years or more leads both hospitalizations (1,033) and the number of deaths (256), with a mortality rate of 24.78%, compared to the lowest number of deaths in the age group of 30 to 39 years. which presents 184 hospitalizations and 3 deaths. In relation to the color/race profile, white people were the most affected (1,756 - 235), followed by brown people with (1,232 - 167), however, black people stand out in the mortality rate with 15.08% (199 - 30), followed by white, which had a mortality rate of 13.38%. The region with the highest number of hospitalizations and deaths was the Southeast region (1,789 - 206), with São Paulo being the Federative Unit that concentrates the highest number of hospitalizations (714 - 61), while Minas Gerais has the highest number of deaths (91) and 672 hospitalizations. Final Considerations: Given this, a higher prevalence of hospitalizations and deaths is observed in elderly people aged 80 or over, demonstrating a senile pattern of the disease. With regard to sex and color/race, it was observed that those most affected were females and white, both in terms of number of hospitalizations and number of deaths, however, the mortality rate was higher in white people. black. The Southeast region, with São Paulo being the main one, has the highest number of hospitalizations, while Minas Gerais has the highest number of deaths. In this situation, the importance of promoting and reinforcing health care for the elderly becomes evident, given that they are the most susceptible to contracting the disease and facing negative consequences, such as reduced quality of life and mortality.