Social inequalities shape childhood mortality from leukemia in Brazil

Why do children with lymphoid leukemia face markedly different mortality rates depending on where they live in Brazil? In a collaboration between researchers at LMU and the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ), trends in childhood lymphoid leukemia mortality in Brazil over more than two decades were analyzed, along with the association of regional development and health care structures with the observed disparities. The findings have been published in The Lancet Regional Health—Americas.

The study shows that mortality increased particularly in Brazil’s socioeconomically disadvantaged North and Northeast, while rates remained stable or declined in more affluent regions. Improvements in primary health care alone were not sufficient to reduce these disparities. Instead, the researchers highlight the need for targeted, region-specific strategies to strengthen specialized pediatric oncology services and improve access to timely diagnosis and treatment to address subnational inequities in childhood cancer outcomes.

“Our findings show that health inequalities extend far beyond access to health care alone. Reducing childhood leukemia mortality requires addressing the underlying social and structural inequalities that continue to affect vulnerable populations,” says doctoral candidate and first author Bárbara Sarni Sanches.

“The strength of our study lies in linking longitudinal leukemia mortality data with complex socioeconomic and health care information. Using biostatistical methods, we combined these data into two meaningful indices, used them to model mortality and investigate their association with regional differences in mortality trends,” says Dr. Ursula Berger from LMU’s Institute for Medical Information Processing, Biometry and Epidemiology (IBE).

According to Professor Marcelo Gerardin Poirot Land from the Faculty of Medicine at UFRJ, the findings provide important evidence to support the planning of public policies aimed at reducing health inequalities. In addition, the study highlights the importance of international scientific collaboration and research networks in addressing complex public health challenges.

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Lisa Lock

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Andrew Zinin

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