Aggressions by firearm in the northeast of Brazil between 2007 and 2022 (Atena Editora)

Abstract

Introduction: Crime in Brazil has alarming levels making it a country with several capitals being considered the most dangerous cities in the world. Most of these cities are located in the northeast of the country, with the region with the highest case of firearm hospitalizations and deaths in Brazil. Objective: Describe the epidemiological profile of hospitalizations due to aggression by firearm firing from the northeastern states of Brazil. Methodology: This is a descriptive observational study, whose data were collected by the Datasus platform. The collection was started from the Hospital Information System (SIH), through hospital morbidity data by hospitalization place between January 2007 to December 2022. The category of diseases used were: firearm firing aggression ; by shooting shotgun, carbine or gun with larger caliber; by shooting other firearms or unspecified weapons. Results and Discussion: The Brazilian Northeast has shown growth in assault deaths since 1996, reaching maximum peak in 2017 with 65,602 cases. It was observed that few people are victimized by homicides if they have more than 12 years of study. The Northeast is the most violent region in the country in terms of firearm hospitalization and aggression by shooting shotgun, carbine or larger firearm. Among the northeastern states, only two of them account for more than 72% of cases in the region; Ceará (38.4%) and Bahia (33.7%). The most affected age group in all states is between 20 and 29 years old. The range between 15 and 39 years is approximately 81.9% of all cases. The average mortality rate of the Northeast is 8.58%, ranging from the states. The proportion of hospitalized men is 10 times larger than women. Among the patients who declared information on color 82.5% are brown. Conclusion: The Northeast was the region with the highest hospitalization rate for aggression to the large and large firearm in the last two decades. In addition, the population most affects the population is formed by men between 20 and 29 years old, brown and low education.