Association between schooling and mortality rate from dengue in Brazil

Abstract

Dengue may be associated with individual level variables, such as schooling, increasing the risk of illness. The objective of this study is to analyze the disparities in dengue mortality among the least and the most educated in Brazil, from 2010 to 2018. This is a retrospective ecological study of the differences in the mortality rate due to dengue between the less and the more educated people in Brazil, according to the mortality rates due to general dengue, by age, sex, and Federative Unit (UF). A bootstrap and multiple imputation procedure for the variable schooling was implemented to consider the multilevel structure of the data from each UF over the years. For each aggregate bank generated, a multilevel Poisson model was adjusted. The improvement in the education level of the Brazilian population did not reflect on the decrease in mortality from dengue. There was an increase in the mortality rate from dengue in Brazil and an increase in the difference in mortality rates between less and more educated. Regardless of the imputation process, the results showed higher mortality rates from dengue among the less educated. Low schooling affected younger people more pronouncedly.