Burden of occupational cancer in Brazil and federative units, 1990-2019

OBJECTIVE: To analyze the spatiotemporal distribution of the burden of occupational cancer in Brazil and federative units between 1990 and 2019. METHODS: Data were extracted from the Global Burden of Disease (GBD) study. Deaths from cancer whose attributable risk factor was occupational carcinogens were considered. Spatial analysis was performed with the first and last years of the series (1990 and 2019). Age-adjusted mortality rates were used to estimate the global Moran’s Index (Moran’s I), and the local indicator of spatial association (LISA) to identify clusters in the country with the respective statistical significance. The occupational cancer mortality rate, adjusted for age, was analyzed based on its trend for Brazil and federative units, in the period between 1990 and 2019. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2019, occupational cancer mortality rate showed a decreasing trend (R(2)=0.62; p<0.001) as well as the burden of disease indicator — DALY (R(2)=0.84; p<0.001). However, mortality is increasing in most states, suggesting that a minority of federative units induce the country’s global trend. There is also the development of a spatial pattern of autocorrelation, indicating clusters of states with low mortality and DALY rates in the Northeast and high values in the South of the country. CONCLUSION: The overall decreasing trend in the trend of occupational cancer masks the heterogeneity across states. This scenario may be associated with the diversity of economic activities, and suggests a decentralized and equitable plan for occupational cancer surveillance.