Estimating inequalities in excess mortality and years of potential life lost by health conditions across ethnic minorities in Colombia: a population-based study, 2018 - 2022

Espinosa, Oscar, Friebel, Rocco ORCID: 0000-0003-1256-9096, Bejarano, Valeria and García, Johnattan (2025) Estimating inequalities in excess mortality and years of potential life lost by health conditions across ethnic minorities in Colombia: a population-based study, 2018 - 2022. BMJ Open. ISSN 2044-6055 (In Press)

Text (Estimating inequalities in excess mortality) - Accepted Version Pending embargo until 1 January 2100. Available under License Creative Commons Attribution. Download (2MB)

Abstract

Background: Addressing disparities in Colombia is a government priority, with the recent introduction of the 2021-2031 Public Health Plan focusing on vulnerable populations. This study aims to compare the burden of excess mortality and years of potential life lost by cause of death and geography for minority groups to inform targeted policy development. Methods: We conducted a population-based study including all individuals of all age groups classified as Indigenous, Romani, Raizal, Afro-Colombian, and Mestizo in Colombia between January 1st 2018 and December 31st 2022. Excess mortality and years of potential life lost was calculated for all ethnic-racial groups by cause of death and geography expressed per 100,000 population, using information from the National Administrative Department of Statistics. The non-parametric Kruskal-Wallis statistical test was used to assess differences in burden across population groups. Findings: Our study sample included 1,420,258 total deaths and we observed significant variation across ethnic-racial groups. Excess mortality and years of potential life lost was most pronounced in Raizal (145 deaths, 11,769 years) and Romani (7059 deaths, 85,832 years) populations, when compared with Mestizo populations. Higher mortality was driven by tuberculosis, suicide, pregnancy, childbirth, and accidents. We find large regional disparities in the mortality burden, with up to 56 times the potential years of life lost in Risaralda compared with the Mestizo population. Interpretation: Our findings indicate that Colombia requires effective strategies to address the unique challenges causing disparities, ranging from improving access to health services and addressing wider social determinants of health.

Item Type:	Article
Divisions:	Health Policy
Subjects:	R Medicine > RA Public aspects of medicine H Social Sciences > HT Communities. Classes. Races
Date Deposited:	15 Jul 2025 09:45
Last Modified:	16 Jul 2025 08:57
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/128828

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