Age structure and proportionate mortality among the Tikmũ'ũn/Maxakali: a descriptive study, Minas Gerais and Brazil, 2022.

Objective: To analyze the age structure and mortality of the Tikmũ'ũn/Maxakali, comparing them to the non-Indigenous population of municipalities neighboring Indigenous territories, in Minas Gerais, and throughout Brazil.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional study using secondary data from 2022 extracted from the Indigenous Health Care Information System, the 2022 Demographic Census, the Mortality Information System, and the Live Birth Information System. Age and sex distributions, proportionate mortality by age group, proportionate mortality burden and infant mortality rate were calculated.

Results: The Tikmũ'ũn/Maxakali population consisted of 2,500 Indigenous people, with 2.4% (n=59) over 60 years of age. Among non-Indigenous people, this age group corresponded to 17.9% (n=28,550) living in neighboring municipalities, 17.8% (n=3,654,934) in Minas Gerais, and 15.9% (n=31,999,315) in Brazil. Among Indigenous people, 75.0% (n=15) of deaths were concentrated in the following age groups: under 1 year old (25.0%, n=5), 20-49 years old (25.0%, n=5), and over 50 years old (25.0%, n=5). For non-Indigenous people, mortality in the over-50 age group was 82.6% (n=1,076) in neighboring municipalities, 84.8% (n=135,221) in Minas Gerais, and 82.2% (n=1,240,116) in Brazil. The infant mortality rate among the Tikmũ'ũn/Maxakali was 66.7 deaths/1,000 live births, while for non-Indigenous people in neighboring municipalities, it was 17.5 deaths/1,000 live births. In Minas Gerais and Brazil, this rate among Indigenous people was 26.0 and 26.7/1,000 live births.

Conclusion: The young age structure and high infant mortality of the Tikmũ'ũn/Maxakali indicate poorer health and care conditions compared to the other populations analyzed.