Burden of disease attributed to acute respiratory infections in South America

Abstract

Introduction: Respiratory diseases (RD) are an important public health problem. Their burden has not been comprehensively evaluated in South America (SA). This study describes the burden of acute respiratory infections (ARIs) in SA in 2019.

Methodology: This is an exploratory, population-based study with a quantitative approach to incidence, mortality, and Disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) by standardized age group among the 12 countries. Measurements were captured through the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation (IHME) website. It used the Burden Study Global Disease, Injury and Risk Factors (GBD) 2019 assessment. Correlation analyses were performed.

Results: The age-standardized incidence rate per 1,00,000 people for lower respiratory infections (LRIs) is lowest in Chile (3,902) and highest in Peru (9,997). For upper respiratory infections (URIs), Bolivia (2,25,826) had the lowest rates, while Brazil (3,16,667) and Colombia (3,06,302) had the highest. Standardized mortality rates for LRI were lowest in Colombia (15.10) and highest in Bolivia (80.53). Bolivia had the highest standardized DALY rate (2,083), while Uruguay had the lowest (468). Upper ARI had lower incidence rates than lower ARI. The lowest DALY rates were in Suriname (82) and the highest were in Brazil (111). There is a correlation between sociodemographic and economic health indicators and the standardized rates of incidence and DALY in the upper ARIs.

Conclusions: The present paper provides comprehensive ARI burden estimates for the region. The substantial incidence and considerable mortality and DALYs are noteworthy and lead to reflections on preventive measures such as rational use of antibiotics and deeper epidemiological investigations.

Keywords: Cost of illness; acute respiratory tract infections; disability-adjusted life years; epidemiology; incidence.