Socio-economic vulnerability and deaths of despair in Brazilian counties

Abstract

Over the past few years, there has been a progressive increase in premature deaths attributable to suicide, drug overdose, and alcohol-related liver disease that impact life expectancy. Regarding the relationship with contextual effects, the evidence is developing, especially in countries with a peripheral economy, as is the case of Brazil. We carried out an analysis aimed at estimating the relationship between socioeconomic insecurity and deaths due to despair in Brazilian cities. We used 5,570 counties' data to create clusters concerning socioeconomic development and then analyzed age-adjusted mortality rates (ASMR) from each of them and compared them using the ANOVA test. Cluster analysis generated two groups of Brazilian municipalities. DoD rates are consistently higher in the group that experiences more deprivation. However, considering differences between 2010 and 2019, the increase in rates was higher in the group with less deprivation experience (48.82 % vs. 39.53 %) We verified an existing gap between the clusters before the beginning of economic stagnation in 2010 The gap between those two groups decreased from 20.58 % (p < 0.001) in 2010 to 14.03 % in 2019 (p = 0.034). The conjuncture of economic crises creates mortality differentials in certain population groups. Also, significant inequalities explain how causes of death from despair affect different subpopulations. Our first approach assessed this assumption, and we could check those differentials at an ecological level. Public policies should focus on reducing the difference in mortality from despair between higher and lower socioeconomic strata.

Keywords

• Socioeconomic deprivation
• Deaths of despair
• Social Determinants of Health
• Economic recession
• Mortality
• Suicide