Temporal trends of overall mortality and hospital morbidity due to diarrheal disease in Brazilian children younger than 5 years from 2000 to 2010

Objective: To verify the temporal trends of the indicators of overall mortality and hospital morbidity due to diarrheal disease in children younger than 1 year and between 1 and 4 years, according to the region of Brazil, between 2000 and 2010. Method: This was an ecological study of temporal series. Data on hospital admission authorization, mean length of stay, and mean value of the authorization were obtained from the Hospital Information System. The number of infant deaths was obtained from the Mortality Information System; information on live births and the general population were obtained from the Information System on Live Births and Demographic Censuses, respectively. These data were available at the website of the informatics department of the Brazilian Unified Health System/Ministry of Health. Results: Mortality due to diarrheal disease in Brazil showed a downwards trend in both age groups. Regarding hospitalization, there was a slight downwards trend in children younger than 1 year and a non-significant upwards trend between 1-4 years, with a shorter hospital stay and lower mean value of hospital stay, regardless of age and region. The North and Northeast had the highest mortality rates and the highest percentage of hospitalizations in children younger than 1 year. The Midwest had the highest mean annual reduction in hospital stay. Conclusion: Currently, the indicators of overall mortality and hospital morbidity due to diarrhea in Brazilian children are generally lower, but decreasing slowly