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The International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) proposed this international historical cohort study trying to solve the controversy about the increased risk of cancer in the workers of the Pulp and Paper Industry. One of the most important aspects presented by this study in Brazil was the strategies used to overcome the methodological challenges, such as: data access, data accuracy, data availability, multiple data sources, and the large follow-up period. Through multiple strategies it was possible to build a Brazilian cohort of 3,622 workers, to follow them with a 93 percent success rate and to identify in 99 percent of the cases the cause of death. This paper, has evaluated the data access, data accuracy and the effectiveness of the strategies used and the different sources of data. A Agência Internacional para Pesquisa sobre Câncer (IARC) propôs uma coorte histórica internacional para tentar resolver a controvérsia sobre o risco aumentado de câncer em trabalhadores das indústrias de celulose e papel. Um dos aspectos mais relevantes deste estudo no Brasil refere-se às estratégias utilizadas para superar desafios metodológicos, tais como: acesso aos dados, acurácia e disponibilidade dos dados, múltiplas fontes de dados e longo período de acompanhamento. Através de múltiplas estratégias, foi possível construir uma coorte brasileira de 3.622 trabalhadores, acompanhar 93% dos casos e identificar a causa de 99% dos óbitos. Este artigo avalia o acesso aos dados, sua acurácia e a efetividade das estratégias utilizadas para o acompanhamento da coorte.

This paper provides estimates of mortality rates from Alzheimer's disease dementia (AD) in the elderly Brazilian population. Data were obtained from the 2010 Population Census by Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE) and microdata on mortality in Brazil's 27 state capitals recorded in the Brazilian Mortality Information System (SIM) for the population 65 years or older by place of residence for the years 2009 to 2013. Corrections were obtained for underreporting of mortality, and final adjustments were made to the specific mortality rates based on Bayesian methods with prior probability distributions built on the basis of information obtained from a meta-analysis. The mortality rates from all dementias and from AD in Brazil were higher than in developed countries. The mortality rates from Alzheimer's disease in 2013 were 140.03 (95%CI: 117.05; 166.4) and 127.07 (95%CI: 103.74; 149.62) per 100,000 inhabitants, respectively, in men and women. The contribution of AD to mortality in elderly Brazilians was 4.4% (95%CI: 3.25; 5.72) in the group with 0 to 3 years of schooling, independently of age and sex. The study aimed to increase knowledge on corrected estimates of mortality rates from Alzheimer's disease based on vital statistics, providing more precise and pertinent evidence-based estimates.Este artículo proporciona estimaciones de las tasas de mortalidad por la demencia por la enfermedad de Alzheimer (DA) en población adulta mayor. Para ello, se usaron datos del Censo Demográfico de 2010 del Instituto Brasileño de Geografía y Estadística (IBGE) y microdatos de mortalidad de las 27 capitales de los estados brasileños, registradas en el Sistema de Informaciones sobre Mortalidad (SIM) del Ministerio de Salud de Brasil, en población con 65 años o más por lugar de residencia, entre los años 2009 y 2013. Se obtuvieron correcciones de los subregistros de mortalidad y ajustes finales de las tasas específicas de mortalidad, a partir de métodos bayesianos, con distribuciones de probabilidad a priori, construidas en base a información obtenida desde metaanálisis. Se destaca que las tasas por demencia y DA en Brasil fueron superiores a las obtenidas en países desarrollados. Las tasas de mortalidad por Alzheimer en 2013 fueron de 140,03 (IC95%: 117,05; 166,4) y 127,07 (IC95%: 103,74; 149,62) por 100.000 habitantes, respectivamente, en hombres y mujeres. La contribución de la DA a la mortalidad adulta mayor en el Brasil fue 4,4% (IC95%: 3,25; 5,72), en el grupo de personas de 0 a 3 años de estudio, independiente de la edad y sexo. Nuestras contribuciones fueron dirigidas a aumentar el conocimiento en estimaciones corregidas de las tasas de mortalidad por Alzheimer con base en estadísticas vitales, proporcionando estimaciones más precisas y pertinentes, fundamentadas en el método científico.Este artigo oferece estimativas das taxas de mortalidade devidas à demência pela doença de Alzheimer (DA) na população idosa brasileira. Para isso, foram usados dados do Censo de Demográfico de 2010 do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatística (IBGE) e microdados de mortalidade das 27 capitais dos estados brasileiros, registradas no Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade (SIM) do Ministério da Saúde, em população com 65 anos ou mais por local de residência, entre os anos de 2009 e 2013. Foram obtidas correções dos sub-registros de mortalidade e ajustes finais das taxas específicas de mortalidade, a partir de métodos bayesianos, com distribuições de probabilidade a priori, construídas em base a informações obtidas via meta-análises. Foi destacado que as taxas por demência e DA no Brasil foram superiores às obtidas em países desenvolvidos. As taxas de mortalidade por Alzheimer em 2013 foram de 140,03 (IC95%: 117,05; 166,4) e 127,07 (IC95%: 103,74; 149,62) por 100 mil habitantes, respectivamente, em homens e mulheres. A contribuição da DA para a mortalidade em idosos no Brasil foi 4,4% (IC95%: 3,25; 5,72), em um grupo de pessoas com 0 a 3 anos de estudo, independentemente da idade ou sexo. Nossas contribuições foram dirigidas a aumentar o conhecimento em estimativas corrigidas das taxas de mortalidade por Alzheimer com base em estatísticas vitais, proporcionando estimativas mais precisas e pertinentes, fundamentadas no método científico.

Este artículo examina la incertidumbre presente en una de las mediciones más usada para análisis y toma de decisiones en salud pública. Adapta la medida de entropía de Shannon-Wiener para expresar la incertidumbre contenida en el conteo de las causas de muertes en las estadísticas vitales oficiales de Chile. A partir de los hallazgos, discute los requerimientos metrológicos en salud pública, tan importantes como las mediciones mismas. Considera y argumenta la existencia de una incertidumbre adicional, asociada con las propiedades performativas de las estadísticas. Tanto por la forma de estructurar los datos a la manera de una cierta sintaxis de lo real, como por las exclusiones de aquello que queda más allá de la modelación cuantitativa usada en cada caso. Mediante una aproximación a la herencia del pensamiento pragmático, y usando herramientas conceptuales de la sociología de la traducción, destaca que la incertidumbre puede contribuir en salud pública a un debate acerca de la vinculación entre técnica, democracia y la formación de un público. This paper addresses the issue of uncertainty in the measurements used in public health analysis and decision-making. The Shannon-Wiener entropy measure was adapted to express the uncertainty contained in counting causes of death in official vital statistics from Chile. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that metrological requirements in public health are as important as the measurements themselves. The study also considers and argues for the existence of uncertainty associated with the statistics' performative properties, both by the way the data are structured as a sort of syntax of reality and by exclusion of what remains beyond the quantitative modeling used in each case. Following the legacy of pragmatic thinking and using conceptual tools from the sociology of translation, the authors emphasize that by taking uncertainty into account, public health can contribute to a discussion on the relationship between technology, democracy, and formation of a participatory public.

O trabalho analisa a taxa de homicídio na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, Brasil, por raça, controladas as variáveis de ordem sócio-econômica (escolaridade) e demográfica (sexo e idade da vítima). Com base nas estatísticas vitais da Fundação Seade e do Censo Demográfico do IBGE, foram calculadas as taxas de homicídio em 2000 para a raça negra e para a população não-negra, em 134 unidades da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (38 municípios e 96 distritos da capital). Para o agregado da mesma região, foram construídas duas categorias (de referência e de exposição) para as variáveis raça, escolaridade, sexo e idade. A pesquisa utiliza análise descritiva e regressão logística múltipla. Embora a taxa bruta de homicídio de negros fosse invariavelmente superior à taxa para não-negros, a variável raça resultou ser não significativa quando controladas as variáveis anos de estudo, sexo e idade. A taxa de homicídio calculada para negros na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo em 2000 é maior que a taxa calculada para não-negros, em decorrência da sobre-representação de negros tanto na população com baixa escolaridade como na população masculina e jovem, principais categorias de exposição para homicídios.The objective of this paper was to analyze the homicide rate by racial/ethnic origin in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil, after controlling for schooling, gender, and age. Based on available vital statistics for São Paulo and from the National Census, the homicide rates for blacks and non-blacks in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo in 2000 were calculated for 134 units (38 municipalities and 96 capital districts). In addition, two categories (reference and exposure) were created for each of the following death certificate socio-demographic data: race, schooling, gender, and age. The research used descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Although homicide rates were invariably higher for blacks than for non-blacks, the race variable was not statistically significant when schooling, gender, and age were controlled. The higher homicide rate for blacks in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo results from overrepresentation of blacks both among individuals with low schooling and in the young male population, the principal exposure categories for homicide.

Modelos de transições demográfica e epidemiológica não têm sido debatidos com grande freqüência pela comunidade acadêmica brasileira. Este estudo tem por objetivo rever criticamente os estudos referentes a estes modelos de transição, analisando suas contribuições e limites à investigação em saúde das populações urbanas do Brasil. Dados do Município de Belo Horizonte são usados para ilustrar os aspectos teóricos levantados neste artigo. Um total de 10.558 declarações de óbito do ano de 1994 foram processadas visando à classificação da causa básica do óbito e local de residência - 75 unidades geográficas. As áreas foram classificadas de acordo com a proporção de chefes de domicílio com baixa escolaridade. Estruturas populacionais e taxas de mortalidade ajustadas por sexo e idade das áreas foram comparadas. As taxas de mortalidade indicam que Belo Horizonte está experimentando múltiplos e desiguais processos de transição epidemiológica. Nas áreas mais pobres, as doenças infecciosas dos adultos têm sido substituídas pelos homicídos. Em geral, os achados sugerem que as grandes cidades brasileiras possuem padrões de mortalidade que variam de acordo com os diferenciais sociais e econômicos. Demographic and epidemiological transition models have seldom been debated within the Brazilian scientific community. This study aims to critically review the studies based on such transition models, analyzing their contributions and limitations for health research in Brazilian cities. Data from the city of Belo Horizonte were used to illustrate the theoretical issues raised in this paper. A total of 10,558 death certificates from 1994 were classified according to underlying cause of death and place of residence (75 geographical areas). Areas were classified according to the proportion of heads of households with low formal education. Population age structures and age- and sex-adjusted mortality rates in the areas were compared. Mortality rates indicate that Belo Horizonte is experiencing a multiple and unequal epidemiological transition process. In the poorer areas, infectious diseases have been replaced by homicides as cause of death in adulthood. The findings suggest that large Brazilian cities have mortality patterns that vary according to social and economic differentials.

This paper addresses the issue of uncertainty in the measurements used in public health analysis and decision-making. The Shannon-Wiener entropy measure was adapted to express the uncertainty contained in counting causes of death in official vital statistics from Chile. Based on the findings, the authors conclude that metrological requirements in public health are as important as the measurements themselves. The study also considers and argues for the existence of uncertainty associated with the statistics' performative properties, both by the way the data are structured as a sort of syntax of reality and by exclusion of what remains beyond the quantitative modeling used in each case. Following the legacy of pragmatic thinking and using conceptual tools from the sociology of translation, the authors emphasize that by taking uncertainty into account, public health can contribute to a discussion on the relationship between technology, democracy, and formation of a participatory public.

This paper aims to analyze mortality among elderly residents in the city of Recife, Pernambuco State, Brazil, and its association with social deprivation (hardship) in the year 2000. An ecological study was performed, and 94 neighborhoods and 5 social strata were analyzed. The independent variable consisted of a composite social deprivation indicator, obtained for each neighborhood and calculated through a scoring technique based on census variables: water supply, sewage, illiteracy, and head-of-household's years of schooling and income. The dependent variables were: mortality rate in individuals60 years of age and cause-specific mortality rates. The association was calculated by means of the Pearson correlation coefficient, linear regression, and mortality odds between social deprivation strata formed by grouping of neighborhoods according to the indicator's quintiles. The data show a statistically significant positive correlation between social deprivation and mortality in the elderly from pneumonia, protein-energy malnutrition, tuberculosis, diarrhea/gastroenteritis, and traffic accidents, and a negative correlation with deaths from bronchopulmonary and breast cancers.

This paper analyzes the association between perinatal mortality and factors related to hospital care during labor, considering that healthcare assessment is needed in order to reduce perinatal mortality. A population-based case-control study was conducted with 118 perinatal deaths (cases) and 492 births (controls) that took place in maternity hospitals of the Brazilian Unified Health System (SUS) in Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Male sex, prematurity, diseases during pregnancy, low birth weight, newborn diseases, lack of prenatal care, lack of partograph use during labor, and less than one fetus assessment per hour during labor were significantly associated with perinatal deaths. In the multiple regression analysis, lack of partograph use during labor and type of hospital were associated with perinatal deaths. These results indicate inadequate quality of care in maternity hospitals and show that health services structure and health care process are related to perinatal mortality due to preventable causes.

In Brazil, data on education, the labor market, and the law enforcement and court systems have already documented that racial discrimination is a structural factor underlying economic and social disadvantages experienced by racial/ethnic minorities. However, racial inequalities in health have received little investigation. According to health indicators presented in this paper, race is a strong predictor of variability in mortality. Early mortality is more frequent among indigenous and black Brazilians; mortality rates from stroke and especially maternal mortality rates are exceedingly higher among black women; violence occurs predominantly among young black men. Lifetime socioeconomic differences across successive generations have been identified as the main cause of racial inequality in health. It is also suggested that racial discrimination and its impact on health are at the origin of these inequalities. Instruments to directly or indirectly measure the impact of racial discrimination on health are discussed. The article suggests that investigation of the impact of both social class and race on health is the most productive approach, both for research as well as for policies to address health inequalities.

This paper analyzes the decision on whether to include deaths of HIV+ pregnant women in the classification of maternal mortality. The study focuses on deaths of childbearing-age women in S o Paulo in 1998, investigated by the State's Central Committee on Maternal Mortality (CCMM). Working from a social constructionist perspective, the research was based on documental analysis and interviews with the president of the CCMM and members of one regional committee. The analysis focused on the selection, investigation, and classification of maternal death, with special attention to the negotiation among various actors involved in the classificatory procedures. The data suggest that in the deaths of HIV+ women, other factors are present including the precedence of HIV status over maternal death and the moral and symbolic aspects of AIDS. The results suggest that improving data through a better understanding of decisions to include or exclude cases is only one side of the issue; it is also important to improve quality of care in pregnancy and childbirth in order to prevent maternal death.

Using data from the Mortality Information System, this paper investigates the deaths of children and adolescents in the Manguinhos neighborhood from 1996 to 2000, to determine the main characteristics and associate key mortality aspects with local living conditions. An outlying working-class or "suburban" neighborhood of the city of Rio de Janeiro where the main campus of the Oswaldo Cruz Foundation is located, Manguinhos consists of 12 "communities" characterized by poverty, social exclusion, drug traffic, and structural violence. In light of these factors and the cultural, social, and economic potential of the Manguinhos population, the authors begin with the theoretical/ practical premise that living conditions played a major role in the deaths of these young citizens. The study of these fatal events may therefore lead to the elucidation of issues and problems that must be included on the agendas and in forums involving both health promotion projects and the Municipal, State, and Federal governments so that they can be appropriately addressed in the scope of public policies.

Health situation analysis has been used to understand complex health processes and to contribute to decision-making in public policies. This paper analyzes the spatial relationship between mortality patterns in the city of Rio de Janeiro (1996-1998) and socioeconomic profiles of neighborhoods. Mortality data were collected from the Municipal Health Department and population data were obtained from the National Census Bureau (IBGE) (1991 and 1996). Neighborhoods were aggregated through the K-means cluster method into 4 homogeneous socioeconomic groups, and the mortality indicators distribution was analyzed by different strata. General mortality, circulatory disease mortality, mortality from poorly defined causes, and mortality from violent causes all displayed large differences among socioeconomic groups. The spatial pattern of the socioeconomic strata allowed the identification of different living conditions, which involved specific mortality patterns. Higher socioeconomic strata presented low mortality figures for all causes.

Violence is of major importance in the health profile of Brazilian metropolitan areas and should be treated as a public health problem. Spatial analysis methods can be highly useful for the surveillance and prevention of violence. This paper analyzes the spatial distribution of victims' place of residence in relation to the main causes of violent death in Porto Alegre (1996) in order to identify vulnerable areas. For motor vehicle accidents, homicides, and suicide, the victim's place of residence was pinpointed using the municipal Geographic Information System. The point patterns of health events and population density were analyzed using a Kernel smoother, visually compared. Some areas with higher concentration of events are similar to population distribution but differ from each other in the remaining high concentration areas, thus indicating specific micro-areas at risk. Areas of higher homicide risk are mainly located on the periphery of the more urbanized area, with worse socioeconomic conditions. Motor vehicle accidents are concentrated in areas that are simultaneously commercial and residential and are traversed by streets with heavy traffic. Suicide deaths are more evenly distributed over the territory. Identification of risk areas provides meaningful information for developing preventive and health promotion measures focusing on the events for which health policies may play a central role.

This paper describes the evolution of disease frequency statistics and techniques used to present them. Beginning in the 17th century were the first specific references to causes of death and proceeding practically until the mid-20th century as mortality statistics by causes, the instrument for a methodical description of diseases was classification of causes of death. From the latter half of the 20th century on, in addition to mortality statistics by cause, morbidity statistics became routine, with the adoption of disease classification and no longer only classification by cause of death. More recently, classification has been adapted to medical specialties, resulting in what has been termed "disease family classification", including classification of the consequences of diseases, with statistics on disability. Disease classification, both for mortality and morbidity, fostered the development of various types of epidemiological studies (both descriptive and analytical) that expanded knowledge on health.

The aim of this paper was to evaluate the accuracy of data on death certificates for occupation and main cause of death. Measure of agreement was assessed comparing data from death certificates with those from both medical records and next-of-kin interviews, analyzing information for 552 residents of Botucatu, Southeast Brazil, who died in 1997. Kappa coefficients of 0.31 (95% C.I. 0. 29-0.34) and 0.76 (95% C.I. 0.75-0.76) were obtained for data on occupation and main cause of death, coded by a Brazilian two-digit classification and the three-digit ICD-10 classification, respectively. One can conclude that, although quality of the main cause of death is acceptable for pilot studies, data on occupation taken only from death certificates is not accurate enough to be used in epidemiological research.

O trabalho analisa a taxa de homicídio na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo, Brasil, por raça, controladas as variáveis de ordem sócio-econômica (escolaridade) e demográfica (sexo e idade da vítima). Com base nas estatísticas vitais da Fundação Seade e do Censo Demográfico do IBGE, foram calculadas as taxas de homicídio em 2000 para a raça negra e para a população não-negra, em 134 unidades da Região Metropolitana de São Paulo (38 municípios e 96 distritos da capital). Para o agregado da mesma região, foram construídas duas categorias (de referência e de exposição) para as variáveis raça, escolaridade, sexo e idade. A pesquisa utiliza análise descritiva e regressão logística múltipla. Embora a taxa bruta de homicídio de negros fosse invariavelmente superior à taxa para não-negros, a variável raça resultou ser não significativa quando controladas as variáveis anos de estudo, sexo e idade. A taxa de homicídio calculada para negros na Região Metropolitana de São Paulo em 2000 é maior que a taxa calculada para não-negros, em decorrência da sobre-representação de negros tanto na população com baixa escolaridade como na população masculina e jovem, principais categorias de exposição para homicídios. The objective of this paper was to analyze the homicide rate by racial/ethnic origin in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo, Brazil, after controlling for schooling, gender, and age. Based on available vital statistics for São Paulo and from the National Census, the homicide rates for blacks and non-blacks in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo in 2000 were calculated for 134 units (38 municipalities and 96 capital districts). In addition, two categories (reference and exposure) were created for each of the following death certificate socio-demographic data: race, schooling, gender, and age. The research used descriptive and logistic regression analyses. Although homicide rates were invariably higher for blacks than for non-blacks, the race variable was not statistically significant when schooling, gender, and age were controlled. The higher homicide rate for blacks in Greater Metropolitan São Paulo results from overrepresentation of blacks both among individuals with low schooling and in the young male population, the principal exposure categories for homicide.