Infant mortality according to race/color in Brazil: what do the national databases say?

Abstract

This study analyzes the consistency of the Brazilian national information systems on mortality (SIM) and live births (SINASC) as data sources for evaluating health inequalities according to race/color. Infant mortality rates (IMRs) were obtained according to race/color from death and live birth certificates for the country as a whole and its regions, for the years 1999-2002. The IMR was also estimated according to race/ color, based on the incorporation of deaths and live births with race/color not reported by two criteria. The study compared the IMRs obtained in the study with those estimated by indirect methods. The IMR ratios were also calculated between race/color categories. A substantial reduction was observed during the period in the number of deaths and live births with race/color not recorded. In 2002, infant mortality in black children was 30.0% to 80.0% higher than that of white children and 40.0% to 80.0% higher than that of brown or mixed-race children (pardas); infant mortality in indigenous children was 40.0% to 90.0% higher than that of white or brown children. It is hoped that improved recording in the SIM and SINASC databases will allow a more in-depth discussion of health inequalities according to race, color, and ethnicity in Brazil.