Trend of mortality from respiratory disease in elderly and the forest fires in the state of Rondônia/Brazil - period between 1998 and 2005

• Published in: Ciência & saude coletiva Vol. 14; no. 6; pp. 2083 - 2090
• Main Authors: Castro, Hermano Albuquerque de, Gonçalves, Karen dos Santos, Hacon, Sandra de Souza
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: Portuguese
• Published: Brazil 01-11-2009
• Subjects: Aged; Brazil; Fires; Humans; Mortality - trends; Respiration Disorders - mortality; Time Factors; Trees; Brazil
• ISSN: 1678-4561
• DOI: 10.1590/S1413-81232009000600015

The forest fires in the Amazon region have been a serious environmental problem. Few studies relate the effects of forest fires on the health of exposed populations. This article aims to study the trend of mortality from respiratory diseases in the elderly, in the period 1998 to 2005, in the state of Rondônia and to correlate with the number of fire focuses. This is a descriptive study of the type of ecological. The death certificates were obtained from the Mortality Information System and the registers of data on the focus of fire have been obtained through online database available publicly in the National Space Research Institute. The results had shown a trend of growth in mortality rates for respiratory disease and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) among elderly over 65 years and also a growing trend in the number of focus of heat. There was a positive and significant correlation between the number of fire focuses and mortality rates respiratory diseases and COPD, which explains around 50% to 80% of deaths by diseases in the elderly in the region studied. These results demonstrate the gravity of the problem of forest fires and the impact on respiratory health of the population, mainly on mortality in the elderly.