Leprosy-related mortality in the State of Piauí, Brazil: time trends and spatial patterns, 2000-2015

The study aimed to analyze spatial patterns and time trends in leprosy-related mortality in the State of Piauí, Brazil, from 2000 to 2015. This was a mixed ecological study with a spatial and temporal state-based approach, using data from the Brazilian Mortality Information System. The analysis includes epidemiological characteristics, mortality trends by Joinpoint regression, and spatial analysis, using the state's 224 municipalities (counties) as the geographic unit. Of the 245,413 deaths identified, leprosy was identified in 234 death certificates, 135 (41.7%) as the underlying cause of death and 189 (58.3%) as an associated cause of death. The highest leprosy-related mortality rates were associated with male gender (relative risk - RR = 2.38; 95%CI: 1.87; 3.03), elderly age (RR = 10.52; 95%CI: 7.16; 15.46), brown skin color (RR = 2.22; 95%CI: 1.47; 3.35), and residents of the state's interior (RR = 5.72; 95%CI: 4.54; 7.21). The crude leprosy-related mortality rate showed a significant increase among the elderly (70 years), brown race/color, cities with fewer than 20,000 inhabitants, and the Central region of the state, but not significant for the State of Piauí as a whole. The spatial distribution by age-adjusted mortality was heterogeneous in the municipalities, concentrating high mortality rates in the northern region of the state, close to the coastline. There was a pattern of increasing smoothed mortality rates over the course of the study's four-year periods in the Mid-northern Central and Semiarid regions. Leprosy mortality was spatially heterogeneous and growing over the years. The findings highlight the importance of enhancing integrated surveillance and healthcare activities.