Introduction

Chronic Non-Communicable Diseases are a major public health problem in Brazil, with notable social and regional disparities.

Objective

examine the relationship between the number of doctors in the Unified Health System and the number of hospitalizations and mortality rates due to Non-Communicable Diseases, and how income inequality might influence such outcomes.

Methods

ecological study using secondary data from Brazil’s public health system (2016-2018). Mortality rates were age-standardized based on WHO’s population. All rates were standardized per 100,000 inhabitants, and costs were converted to US dollars. Linear regression was performed using backward elimination strategy.

Results

2,423,251 deaths were recorded, with a total expenditure of US$3.2 billion. Both deaths and costs were higher in men. The Gini index was inversely correlated with total spending (p < 0.05) and hospital admissions for most Non-Communicable Diseases (p < 0.001), except for metabolic diseases. No correlation was found between the Gini index and mortality.

Conclusions

Non-Communicable Diseases accounted for over 2 million deaths in adults during 2016-2018, with a greater impact on men. A negative relationship between income inequality and Non-Communicable Diseases outcomes was found, but no significant association with the number of Unified Health System’s doctors was identified.