Análise das diferenças por sexo da expectativa de vida saudável no Brasil por grandes regiões a partir de dados da ELSI-Brasil

Abstract

The gender paradox is the phenomenon by which greater survival is associated with higher prevalence of morbidity in women compared to men. The main reasons for the differences in mortality and morbidity are associated with differences in behavior, social context, biological factors and aspects of health research. In this context, this study seeks to identify to what extent the contributions of mortality and morbidity explain the differences in health and survival between men and women in Brazil and Brazilian geographic Regions. Health and mortality conditions were estimated based on the calculation of Healthy Life Expectancy, a measure that associates the average expected life span of a population with health prevalence, therefore, associating quantitative and qualitative aspects in a single measure. To measure the aspects of survival and health, the IBGE life tables and health data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Aging for the years 2016 and 2019 were used. The specific contribution of morbidity and mortality was measured from the continuous decomposition of the differences in Healthy Life Expectancy, which were estimated at approximately 3 years in 2016 and 1.9 years in 2019. It was identified that for Brazil, mortality plays a more central role in gender differences than morbidity, although the variation in the results between the two periods of analysis indicates an increase in the contribution of morbidity in the total differences, from 0.5 years to 1.5 years at the national level. In general, morbidity and mortality contribute in opposite directions to the total differences in Healthy Life Expectancy between women and men, with the exception of the North and Northeast Regions in 2016, which indicates the relevance of health conditions in these Regions. The study highlights the relevance of mortality and health characteristics between women and men for the development of public policies, since the gender paradox indicates distinct patterns, especially across Brazilian geographic Regions, for the differences in health conditions and mortality.