Temporal and Spatial Analysis of Lung Cancer Mortality in a Northeastern Brazilian State from 1980 to 2022

Abstract Lung cancer is the most lethal cancer in the world. In Brazil, it is the third most common in men and the fourth in women. In Sergipe, this disease was the leading cause of cancer deaths from 2014 to 2018. To evaluate the mortality trend due to the disease associated with the spatial distribution analysis over the last 40 years. The present is an ecological study with a time series and spatial analysis. Mortality data were obtained from the Mortality Information System. The Joinpoint software (version 5.0.2) was used for the temporal analysis, and the QGIS (version 3.10) and Terraview (version 4.2.2) software were chosen for the spatial analysis. Lung cancer accounted for 4,472 deaths. Male mortality showed an increasing trend until 2007, then stabilized. Female mortality showed an increasing trend throughout the entire period. Aracaju stands out as the municipality with the highest age-adjusted mortality rates in men. For women, the highest adjusted rates were found in the municipalities of Carmópolis and Divina Pastora. The presence of the oil industry in this region since 1963 seems to be related to the high mortality rates. The data from Sergipe align with global trends of decreasing male mortality rates and increasing female ones. The present study demonstrates that the curve of lung cancer mortality in women is on the rise. Additionally, it provides relevant information for implementing tobacco control actions and assessing regions with higher mortality risk. The data herein presented can aid in directing public resources and organizing health services.