Mortality due to Chagas disease in Brazil according to a specific cause.

A century after its discovery, Chagas disease (CD) is still considered a public health problem. Mortality caused by CD between 2000 and 2010 was described according to the specific underlying cause, year of occurrence, gender, age range, and region of Brazil. The standardized mortality rate decreased 32.4%, from 3.4% in 2000 to 2.3% in 2010. Most of the deaths (85.9%) occurred in male patients who were > 60 years of age caused by cardiac involvement. The mortality rate caused by cardiac involvement decreased in all regions of Brazil, except in the North region, where it increased by 1.6%. The Northeast had the smallest and the Central-West had the largest decrease. The mortality rate caused by a compromised digestive tract increased in all regions. Despite the control of transmission by vector and blood transfusions, CD should remain on the list of priority diseases for the public health service in Brazil, and surveillance actions cannot be interrupted.