Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2021 Feb 26:54:e07682020.
doi: 10.1590/0037-8682-0768-2020. eCollection 2021.

Chagas disease-related mortality in Colombia from 1979 to 2018: temporal and spatial trends

Mario Javier Olivera  1 , Julián Felipe Porras-Villamil  2 , Juan Carlos Villar  3 , Eliana Váquiro Herrera  3 , Giancarlo Buitrago  4   5
Affiliations

Chagas disease-related mortality in Colombia from 1979 to 2018: temporal and spatial trends

Mario Javier Olivera et al. Rev Soc Bras Med Trop. .

Abstract

Introduction: Studies on Chagas disease-related mortality assist in decision-making in health policies. We analyzed the epidemiological characteristics, temporal trends, and regional differences in Chagas disease-related mortality in Colombia from 1979 to 2018.

Methods: A time-series study was conducted using death records and population data from the National Administrative Department of Statistics, using categorizations from the International Classification of Disease (ICD)-9 and ICD-10 systems. All deaths with Chagas disease as an underlying or associated cause of death were included. Crude and age-sex standardized mortality rates per 100,000 inhabitants and the annual percent change (APC) were calculated.

Results: Of the 7,287,461 deaths recorded in Colombia during 1979-2018, 3,276 (0.04%) deaths were related to Chagas disease-2,827 (86.3%) as an underlying cause and 449 (13.7%) as an associated cause. The average annual age-sex standardized mortality rate was 0.211 (95% confidence interval [CI]: 0.170-0.252) deaths/100,000 inhabitants, with a significant upward trend (APC = 6.60%; 95% CI: 5.9-7.3). The highest Chagas disease-related death rates were in males (0.284 deaths/100,000 inhabitants), those ≥65 years old (1.296 deaths/100,000 inhabitants), and residents of the Orinoco region (1.809 deaths/100,000 inhabitants). There was a significant increase in mortality in the Orinoco (APC = 8.28%; 95% CI: 6.4-10.2), Caribbean (APC = 5.06%; 95% CI: 3.6-6.5), and Andean (APC = 4.63%; 95% CI: 3.9-5.3) regions.

Conclusions: Chagas disease remains a major public health issue in Colombia with high mortality rates in older age groups, a wide geographic distribution, regional differences, and the potential to increase.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of Interest: The authors declare that there is no conflict of interest.

Figures

FIGURE 1:
FIGURE 1:. Mortality rates (per 100,000 people) caused by Chagas disease in Colombia, 1979-2018. A) Crude and standardized mortality rates by age, sex, and year of occurrence. B) Standardized mortality rate according to age range and year of occurrence.
FIGURE 2:
FIGURE 2:. Distribution of mortality rates by Chagas disease (basic cause) according to departments in Colombia from 1979 to 2018. Mortality rates are expressed per 100,000 inhabitants.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. World Health Organization Chagas disease in Latin America: an epidemiological update based on 2010 estimates. Wkly Epidemiol Rec. 2015;(6):33–44. - PubMed
    1. Bern C. Chagas’ Disease. N Engl J Med. 2015;373(5):456–466. - PubMed
    1. Prata A. Clinical and epidemiological aspects of Chagas disease. Lancet Infect Dis. 2001;1(2):92–100. - PubMed
    1. Olivera MJ, Porras J, Toquica C, Rodríguez J. Barriers to Diagnosis Access for Chagas Disease in Colombia. J Parasitol Res. 2018;2018:4940796–4940796. - PMC - PubMed
    1. Olivera MJ, Buitrago G. Economic costs of Chagas disease in Colombia in 2017: A social perspective. Int J Infect Dis. 2020;91:196–201. - PubMed