[Trends in mortality of diabetes mellitus patients in Brazilian capitals, 1980-2007].

OBJECTIVE To analyze mortality patterns of patients with diabetes in Brazilian capitals from 1980 to 2007. MATERIALS AND METHODS Age-standardized quadrennial and annual mortality rates were calculated with the world population as reference. Linear regression models were estimated to analyze mortality trends in each capital. RESULTS In the first quadrennial period, the highest rate was 42.89/100,000 in Aracaju; and in the last quadrennial period, 54.38/100,000 in São Luis. Although mortality rates showed statistically significant incremental trends in most capitals, there were regional differences. Belo Horizonte was the only capital to show a declining trend. CONCLUSIONS Part of the observed increment could be attributed to improvements in access to diagnosis and death certification, but regional differences in the prevalence of diabetes risk and protective factors might also be implicated. The absence of a time series of incident cases makes it difficult to determine if these results reflect current trends in the incidence of diabetes in Brazil.