Regional Profile and Temporal Trends of Hospitalizations and Deaths Due to Diseases of the Blood, Blood-forming Organs, and Immune Disorders in Brazil
Year: 2026
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: Background Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism comprise a heterogeneous group of conditions that may require hospital care and present different patterns of morbidity and mortality across Brazilian regions. The analysis of hospital data allows for the identification of temporal trends and inequalities in service utilization and hospital outcomes. Objective To analyze the regional distribution and temporal evolution of hospitalizations and deaths related to diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and immune disorders in Brazil, between 2020 and 2025. Methods An observational, ecological, retrospective, descriptive, and quantitative study, conducted by consulting the Hospital Information System of the Unified Health System (SIH/SUS). Data regarding ICD-10 Chapter III (Diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and certain disorders involving the immune mechanism) were selected, considering the period from January 2020 to 2025. The variables analyzed were year of care, region of residence, number of hospitalizations, and number of deaths. Hospital mortality was calculated by the ratio between deaths and hospitalizations, multiplied by 100. Descriptive analyses of absolute frequencies, proportional distribution, and temporal evolution of the indicators were performed. Because it uses public, aggregated data without individual identification, there was no access to patients' personal information.Results: In the analyzed period, 709,955 hospitalizations and 35,248 deaths were recorded due to diseases belonging to Chapter III of the ICD-10. An increase in hospitalizations was observed, from 91,140 in 2020 to 134,684 in 2025, representing a 47.8% growth. In the same period, deaths increased from 4,701 to 6,281, corresponding to a 33.6% increment. Hospital mortality decreased from 5.16% in 2020 to 4.66% in 2025. The Southeast region concentrated the highest number of hospitalizations (315,781; 44.5%) and deaths (17,772; 50.4%), followed by the Northeast, with 171,601 hospitalizations and 8,179 deaths. The highest cumulative hospital mortality was observed in the Southeast (5.63%), followed by the Northeast (4.77%) and South (4.68%), while the North (3.61%) and Central-West (3.68%) presented lower proportions. Discussion The results demonstrate an absolute increase in deaths. However, the growth in hospitalizations was proportionally higher than that of deaths, resulting in a reduction in hospital mortality over the series. The concentration of hospitalizations and deaths in the Southeast may be related to population distribution, a greater supply and concentration of specialized services, and regional diagnostic and hospital capacity. The differences observed between the regions should, however, be interpreted with caution, considering demographic, epidemiological, and socioeconomic characteristics, as well as differences in access to health services. Conclusion Therefore, an increase in hospitalizations and deaths related to diseases of the blood and blood-forming organs and immune disorders in the SUS is observed, concurrently with a reduction in proportional hospital mortality. The Southeast region presented the highest concentration of hospitalizations and deaths, and the highest cumulative hospital mortality. These findings reinforce the need to track regional and temporal hospital metrics to support care planning and health service organization.
Language: English
Subfield: Hematology
Field: Medicine
Domain: Health Sciences
Open Access status: diamond
OpenAlex ID: W7223147308