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. 2022 Mar 26:12:04028.
doi: 10.7189/jogh.12.04028. eCollection 2022.

Health disparity and mortality trends of infectious diseases in BRICS from 1990 to 2019

Affiliations

Health disparity and mortality trends of infectious diseases in BRICS from 1990 to 2019

Qiao Liu et al. J Glob Health. .

Abstract

Background: Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa (BRICS) represented almost half of the global population and much infectious disease burden. We aimed to analyze the current status and trends from 1990 to 2019 of infectious disease mortality in BRICS.

Methods: We used the data of mortality estimation from the Global Burden of Disease Study 2019. The absolute number of deaths from and mortality rates of infectious diseases in each country were derived from the database from 1990 to 2019. Age-standardized mortality rate (ASMR) was used to compare populations in different regions and times. The estimated annual percentage change (EAPC) of rates quantified the infectious disease mortality trends.

Results: BRICS respectively accounted for 39% and 32% of the global infectious disease deaths, in 1990 and 2019. Lower respiratory infections, tuberculosis, and diarrheal diseases contributed the most to the number of deaths in 1990 and 2019. In BRICS, ASMRs of all infectious diseases except sexually transmitted infections (STIs) decreased. The highest STI ASMRs were in South Africa; the highest ASMRs of enteric infections, neglected tropical diseases and malaria, and other infectious diseases were in India; South Africa and India both had relatively high respiratory infection ASMRs.

Conclusion: Infectious disease mortality varies substantially in BRICS, and health disparity needs to be considered when facing complex infectious disease situations in different countries.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: The authors completed the ICMJE Unified Competing Interest form (available upon request from the corresponding author) and declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Leading 10 infectious diseases of number of deaths in BRICS (1990 and 2019). Diseases are connected by lines between time periods; solid lines are increases in rank and dashed lines are decreases.
Figure 2
Figure 2
The number of infectious diseases by Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, from 1990 to 2019. HIV/AIDS - human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Age-standardized mortality rates of infectious diseases in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, from 1990 to 2019. HIV/AIDS - human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Age-specific mortality rates of infectious diseases in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa, in 1990 and 2019. HIV/AIDS - human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.
Figure 5
Figure 5
EAPC in different age groups of infectious diseases in Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa and the corresponding 95% CIs, from 1990 to 2019. EAPC, estimated annual percentage change; HIV/AIDS - human immunodeficiency virus/Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome.

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