All-cause and cause-specific mortality among people with severe mental illness in Brazil's public health system, 2000-15: a retrospective study.

BACKGROUND: People with severe mental illness have a mortality rate higher than the general population, living an average of 10-20 years less. Most studies of mortality among people with severe mental illness have occurred in high-income countries (HICs). We aimed to estimate all-cause and cause-specific relative risk (RR) and excess mortality rate (EMR) in a nationwide cohort of inpatients with severe mental illness compared with inpatients without severe mental illness in a middle income country, Brazil. METHODS: This national retrospective cohort study included all patients hospitalised through the Brazilian Public Health System (Sistema Único de Saúde [SUS]-Brazil) between Jan 1, 2000, and April 21, 2015. Probabilistic and deterministic record linkages integrated data from the Hospital Information System (Sistema de informações Hospitalares) and the National Mortality System (Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade). Follow-up duration was measured from the date of the patients' first hospitalisation until their death, or until April 21, 2015. Severe mental illness was defined as schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, or depressive disorder by ICD-10 codes used for the admission. RR and EMR were calculated with 95% CIs, comparing mortality among patients with severe mental illness with those with other diagnoses for patients aged 15 years and older. We redistributed deaths using the Global Burden of Diseases, Injuries, and Risk Factors Study methodology if ill-defined causes of death were stated as an underlying cause. FINDINGS: From Jan 1, 2000, to April 21, 2015, 72 021 918 patients (31 510 035 [43·8%] recorded as male and 40 974 426 [56·9%] recorded as female; mean age 41·1 (SD 23·8) years) were admitted to hospital, with 749 720 patients (372 458 [49·7%] recorded as male and 378 670 [50·5%] as female) with severe mental illness. 5 102 055 patient deaths (2 862 383 [56·1%] recorded as male and 2 314 781 [45·4%] as female) and 67 485 deaths in patients with severe mental illness (39 099 [57·9%] recorded as male and 28 534 [42·3%] as female) were registered. The RR for all-cause mortality in patients with severe mental illness was 1·27 (95% CI 1·27-1·28) and the EMR was 2·52 (2·44-2·61) compared with non-psychiatric inpatients during the follow-up period. The all-cause RR was higher for females and for younger age groups; however, EMR was higher in those aged 30-59 years. The RR and EMR varied across the leading causes of death, sex, and age groups. We identified injuries (suicide, interpersonal violence, and road injuries) and cardiovascular disease (ischaemic heart disease) as having the highest EMR among those with severe mental illness. Data on ethnicity were not available. INTERPRETATION: In contrast to studies from HICs, inpatients with severe mental illness in Brazil had high RR for idiopathic epilepsy, tuberculosis, HIV, and acute hepatitis, and no significant difference in mortality from cancer compared with inpatients without severe mental illness. These identified causes should be addressed as a priority to maximise mortality prevention among people with severe mental illness, especially in a middle-income country like Brazil that has low investment in mental health. FUNDING: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Fundação de Amparo a Pesquisa do Estado de Minas Gerais, FAPEMIG, and the Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior-Brasil.

Predicting the environmental suitability and population at risk of podoconiosis in Africa.

Podoconiosis is a type of tropical lymphedema that causes massive swelling of the lower limbs. The disease is associated with both economic insecurity, due to long-term morbidity-related loss of productivity, and intense social stigma. The geographical distribution and burden of podoconiosis in Africa are uncertain. We applied statistical modelling to the most comprehensive database compiled to date to predict the environmental suitability of podoconiosis in the African continent. By combining climate and environmental data and overlaying population figures, we predicted the environmental suitability and human population at risk of podoconiosis in Africa. Environmental suitability for podoconiosis was predicted in 29 African countries. In the year 2020, the total population in areas suitable for podoconiosis is estimated at 114.5 million people, (95% uncertainty interval: 109.4-123.9) with 16.9 million in areas suitable for both lymphatic filariasis and podoconiosis. Of the total 5,712 implementation units (typically second administrative-level units, such as districts) defined by the World Health Organization in Africa, 1,655 (29.0%) were found to be environmentally suitable for podoconiosis. The majority of implementation units with high environmental suitability are located in Angola (80, 4.8%), Cameroon (170, 10.3%), the DRC (244, 14.7%), Ethiopia (495, 29.9%), Kenya (217, 13.1%), Uganda (116, 7.0%) and Tanzania (112, 6.8%). Of the 1,655 environmentally suitable implementation units, 960 (58.0%) require more detailed community-level mapping. Our estimates provide key evidence of the population at risk and geographical extent of podoconiosis in Africa, which will help decision-makers to better plan more integrated intervention programmes.

Epidemiologic Changes of Scrub Typhus in China, 1952-2016.

Scrub typhus, a miteborne rickettsiosis, has emerged in many areas globally. We analyzed the incidence and spatial-temporal distribution of scrub typhus in China during 1952-1989 and 2006-2016 using national disease surveillance data. A total of 133,623 cases and 174 deaths were recorded. The average annual incidence was 0.13 cases/100,000 population during 1952-1989; incidence increased sharply from 0.09/100,000 population in 2006 to 1.60/100,000 population in 2016. The disease, historically endemic to southern China, has expanded to all the provinces across both rural and urban areas. We identified 3 distinct seasonal patterns nationwide; infections peaked in summer in the southwest, summer-autumn in the southeast, and autumn in the middle-east. Persons >40 years of age and in nonfarming occupations had a higher risk for death. The changing epidemiology of scrub typhus in China warrants an enhanced disease control and prevention program.

Mapping the global distribution of podoconiosis: Applying an evidence consensus approach.

BACKGROUND: Podoconiosis is a type of elephantiasis characterised by swelling of the lower legs. It is often confused with other causes of tropical lymphedema and its global distribution is uncertain. Here we synthesise the available information on the presence of podoconiosis to produce evidence consensus maps of its global geographical distribution. METHODS AND FINDINGS: We systematically searched available data on podoconiosis in SCOPUS and MEDLINE from inception, updated to 10 May, 2019, and identified observational and population-based studies reporting podoconiosis. To establish existence of podoconiosis, we used the number of cases reported in studies and prevalence data with geographical locations. We then developed an index to assess evidence quality and reliability, assigning each country an evidence consensus score. Using these summary scores, we then developed a contemporary global map of national-level podoconiosis status. There is evidence of podoconiosis in 17 countries (12 in Africa, three in Latin America, and two in Asia) and consensus on presence in six countries (all in Africa). We have identified countries where surveillance is required to further define the presence or absence of podoconiosis. We have highlighted areas where evidence is currently insufficient or conflicting, and from which more evidence is needed. CONCLUSION: The global distribution of podoconiosis is not clearly known; the disease extent and limits provided here inform the best contemporary map of the distribution of podoconiosis globally from available data. These results help identify surveillance needs, direct future mapping activities, and inform prevention plans and burden estimation of podoconiosis.

Publisher Correction: Mapping exclusive breastfeeding in Africa between 2000 and 2017.

An amendment to this paper has been published and can be accessed via a link at the top of the paper.

Publisher Correction: Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

This Article was mistakenly not made Open Access when originally published; this has now been amended, and information about the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License has been added into the 'Additional information' section.

Publisher Correction: Past and future spread of the arbovirus vectors Aedes aegypti and Aedes albopictus.

In the version of this Article originally published, the affiliation for author Catherine Linard was incorrectly stated as '6Department of Infectious Disease Epidemiology, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London, UK'. The correct affiliation is '9Spatial Epidemiology Lab (SpELL), Universite Libre de Bruxelles, Brussels, Belgium'. The affiliation for author Hongjie Yu was also incorrectly stated as '11Department of Statistics, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA'. The correct affiliation is '15School of Health, Fudan University, Key Laboratory of Public Health Safety, Ministry of Education, Shanghai, China'. This has now been amended in all versions of the Article.