ASTHMA HOSPITALIZATIONS IN BRAZIL ACCORDING TO DATASUS: A LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

Considering the high prevalence of asthma and its impact on morbidity and mortality and the demand for healthcare services, especially in low- and middle-income countries, the disease is a significant public health problem in Brazil, where it is one of the leading causes of hospitalization. The objective is to summarize the national scientific production on the epidemiology of asthma in the country, with an emphasis on hospitalizations, deaths, hospital costs, and regional distribution. To this end, a bibliographic review of the literature published between 2020 and 2025 was conducted, including descriptive studies based on secondary data from the Department of Informatics of the Unified Health System (DATASUS). Thus, there was a reduction in hospitalizations for asthma during the COVID-19 pandemic period, followed by a gradual resumption in subsequent years, as well as a concentration of hospitalizations and deaths in the Southeast and Northeast regions and regional variations in hospital costs. There was also a greater impact of mortality in the elderly and significant temporal variation in the indicators analyzed. This allows us to conclude that asthma maintains heterogeneous epidemiological behavior in the national territory, influenced by regional inequalities, socioeconomic factors, and the organization of the healthcare network, reinforcing the need to strengthen strategies for surveillance, prevention, and adequate management of the disease in the context of public health.