Abstract

Pemphigus is a rare and sometimes fatal autoimmune disease in which the body itself gathers defense cells to attack the desmoglein proteins, responsible for adhesion between the layers of the skin, causing acantholysis. It usually manifests initially in the oral cavity, progressing to the skin of other regions of the body. Given the risk and the difficulty in diagnosing this pathology, the objective of this study was to study the epidemiological profile of mortality due to pemphigus in Brazil, from 2000 to 2020. Thus, a cross-sectional, epidemiological and descriptive-analytical study was carried out, with secondary data from TABNET-DATASUS-Ministry of Health-Brazil, corresponding to deaths occurring in the Brazilian population. The collected data were tabulated in Excel and the results presented in graphs and tables and expressed in absolute numbers and frequencies. They were statistically analyzed using the Bioestat 5.3 Program, in which the mean, standard deviation, and correlation (Pearson’s Correlation Test) were analyzed, considering p-value <0.05. There were n = 1511 deaths from this pathology in Brazil, in the period under study, the year 2015 presented the highest number of deaths n = 116. The region with the highest mortality was the Southeast (46%); the most affected sex was female (59%); the age group with the most deaths was 80 years and + (29%); the most affected color/race was white (52.2%); there was a lower number of deaths in people with 12 years of schooling and more (4%); marital status, preferably affected, married (34%); place of occurrence: hospital (84%). Even though it is a rare, treatable disease with low lethality, a significant number of deaths from pemphigus occurred in Brazil during the decades under study. It is easy to treat with corticosteroids and other medications, but requires early diagnosis to contain its progression and improve prognosis. Therefore, these deaths indicate the need for better diagnosis and early treatment to inhibit mortality from pemphigus in Brazil.

Keywords

pemphigus, epidemiology, mortality