Rev. Soc. Bras. Enferm. Ped.2022;22:eSOBEP202202.
Epidemiological profile and spatial distribution of respiratory diseases among children in the period before and during the pandemic of COVID-19
DOI: 10.31508/1676-379320220024
Abstract
Objective
To analyze the epidemiological profile and spatial distribution of respiratory system diseases among children in Brazil in the period before and during the pandemic of COVID-19.
Methods
Ecological time-series, descriptive study, carried out with data from the Brazilian Department of Public Health Informatics about hospitalizations and deaths of children under 10 years old due to respiratory diseases in Brazil from March/2019 to February/2021. The analysis occurred by sex, age group, race/color and macroregion.
Results
The epidemiological profile with regard to hospitalizations, in both periods analyzed, was of children 1-4 years of age, male, brown, and living in the Southeast Region. As for deaths, the most affected were children under one year of age, male, brown, from Northeast Brazil, both in the pre-pandemic year and in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic. It is important to note that the hospitalizations and deaths of children from respiratory diseases in Brazil showed a drop in the first year after the beginning of the pandemic of COVID-19, the most significant drop being in hospitalizations.
Conclusion
Given the significant decrease in both hospitalizations and deaths of children from respiratory diseases, one can conclude that the adoption of non-pharmacological measures to contain the chain of transmission of COVID-19 has positive impacts on other respiratory diseases.
Keywords: Child health; Respiratory Tract Diseases; Spatial Analysis