Abstract

CAMPAGNA, Aide de Souza; DUARTE, Elisabeth Carmen; DAUFENBACH, Luciane Zappelini  and  DOURADO, Inês. Trends of influenza-related mortality in the elderly in Brazil and evidence of the plausibility of the impact of vaccination, 1992-2005. Epidemiol. Serv. Saúde [online]. 2014, vol.23, n.1, pp.21-31. ISSN 1679-4974.

OBJECTIVE: to describe trends in mortality from influenza-related respiratory diseases in the elderly comparing the periods before and after the annual influenza vaccination campaigns. METHODS: a time-series ecological study using data from the Mortality Information System on deaths among the elderly between 1992 and 2005 where the underlying cause was: pneumonia, influenza, bronchitis and chronic airway obstruction. Analysis performed by linear regression adjusting the historical trend and seasonality. RESULTS: we identified a statistically significant reduction of specific mortality rates in the period after vaccination campaign implementation among the elderly in Brazil as a whole and in the country's Southern, Southeastern and Midwestern regions, and in all age subgroups studied in Brazil and its Southeastern region. CONCLUSION: the results show evidence of the plausibility of a possible protective effect of influenza vaccination campaigns in reducing elderly mortality from respiratory diseases.

Keywords : Respiratory Tract Diseases; Influenza Vaccines; Immunization; Time Series Studies.

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