RACIAL AND EDUCATIONAL INEQUALITIES IN MORTALITY FROM ARTERIAL HYPERTENSION IN BRAZIL: AN EPIDEMIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS USING DATASUS DATA

Abstract

Systemic arterial hypertension constitutes an important public health problem, associated with high morbidity and mortality and strongly influenced by social determinants of health. This study aimed to analyze racial and educational inequalities in mortality from arterial hypertension in Brazil from 2015 to 2024. This is an ecological, observational, retrospective, descriptive study with a quantitative approach, conducted using secondary data from the Mortality Information System (SIM/DATASUS). Deaths by place of residence whose underlying cause was classified as essential hypertension according to ICD-10 were included, analyzing the variables race/color and educational level. During the studied period, 313,603 deaths from arterial hypertension were recorded in the country. There was a predominance of deaths among white individuals (46.50%), followed by mixed-race individuals (39.27%) and black individuals (11.19%). Regarding educational level, a higher frequency of deaths was observed among individuals with no formal education (25.85%), 1 to 3 years of schooling (23.42%), and 4 to 7 years of schooling (20.28%). The findings highlight relevant sociodemographic inequalities in hypertension mortality, reinforcing the need for public policies focused on equity, early diagnosis, and longitudinal care.