Mortality in Uruguay in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic: geographic variations and causes of death
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.20947/S0102-3098a0301Keywords:
COVID-19, causes of death, geographic disparities in mortality, UruguayAbstract
During the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic, Uruguay stood out in the Latin American context for its low mortality levels. However, this situation could not be maintained in the following years. Here we analyze the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic in Uruguay during the period 2020-2022, exploring the disparities in mortality between departments as well as the contributions by cause of death to the changes in life expectancy. These analyses aim, on one hand, to identify the most affected regions of the country and, on the other hand, to gain a better understanding of the changes in mortality by cause of death during the study period, in the context of the various health and social measures adopted. The results show a higher incidence of increased mortality in the northern region of the country, particularly in areas bordering Brazil in 2021 and 2022. The largest life-expectancy losses were observed in 2021, mainly due to COVID-19 mortality. In 2022, the losses were smaller, but the profile of causes of death contributing to this result is more heterogeneous than in 2021.
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