Hospital admissions for stroke in the Brazilian National health system: Epidemiological findings from 2019-2020

ABSTRACT

Background and Aims: Stroke is one of the leading causes of death and disability in adults, accounting for a high number of hospitalizations worldwide. This study aims to evaluate the epidemiology of hospitalizations for stroke in Brazil during 2019 and 2020. Methods: Cross-sectional, descriptive and retrospective study, which evaluated the epidemiology of hospital admissions for stroke in the Brazilian National Health System in the years 2019 and 2020. Hospital admissions were evaluated by sex, race and age group using the national database (DATASUS - Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System). The official classification of race/skin color in Brazil is composed of five categories White, Brown [Pardo], Black, Yellow and Indigenous. Results: During this time period, there was a total of 316,859 hospitalizations for stroke in the Brazilian National Health System, with 163,120 (51.5%) hospital admissions in 2019 and 153,739 (48.5%) in 2020. Also, 166,178 (52.4%) patients were male and 150,681 (47.6%) were female. Regarding race (n=250,446);106,998 (42.7%) patients considered themselves white, 116,601 (46.6%) brown, 17,085 (6.8%) black and 9,762 (3.9%) others. Regarding age groups;64,939 (20.5%) were >80 years old, 163,114 (51.5%) were 60-79, 74,605 (23.5%) were 40-59 and 14,201 (4.5%) were<40. Conclusions: The majority of patients hospitalized for stroke were 60-79 years old and white or brown. The similar number of hospital admissions in 2019 and 2020 may suggest that hospitalizations for stroke were not significantly impacted by hospital's oversaturation by the COVID-19 pandemic.