Changes in health and disease in Brazil and its States in the 30 years since the Unified Healthcare System (SUS) was created

Abstract

The Unified Healthcare System (SUS) was created to ensure the population’s right to universal, free and comprehensive healthcare. This study compares the health indicators measured in 1990 to those measured in 2015 in Brazil and its states. The goal is to contribute to understanding the role SUS played in changing the nation’s health profile. Analyses use estimates in the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study for Brazil and its states, and compares 1990 and 2015. The main results are increased life expectancy, as well as an increase in the population’s longevity measured in health-adjusted life expectancy. These in turn are due to a sharp decline in mortality due to transmissible diseases, in maternal and infant morbi-mortality, and avoidable causes of death. NTCDs are the leading cause of death, followed by violence. Poor diet is the leading risk factor, followed by metabolic issues. Tobacco use decreased over the period, as did infant malnutrition. In the thirty years since the SUS was created, health indicators in this country have improved, and major progress has been made to reduce inequality across the country’s regions.

Healthcare policies; Child mortality; Unified Healthcare System; Non-Transmissible; Chronic Diseases (NTCDs); Violence