Objective: To analyze asthma costs, hospitalization rates and stay, and mortality in Brazil.

Methods: This cross-sectional epidemiological study obtained asthma data from the Brazilian National Health System Department of Informatics (DATASUS). Proportional hospitalization rates and deaths were estimated per 100,000 inhabitants according to the respective subjects' age, region, and year of occurrence.

Results: Total asthma hospitalizations and deaths per year decreased from 2008 to 2021 (205,392 vs. 55,009 and 822 vs. 327, respectively). In addition, a between-gender difference was observed in asthma-related hospitalizations in 2008, and more men were hospitalized in 2021 (51.8%). Asthma mortality rates were similar for both genders (50.0% each) in 2008, and a slight increase was observed for women?s deaths in 2021(52.9%). The number of deaths decreased from 822 (2008) to 327 people (2021). Even so, approximately one death/per day and more than 55,000 hospitalizations were observed yearly, with an average hospital stay of three days. The Northeast region (2nd most populous) presented higher hospitalization, followed by the North (Amazonic), South (the coldest), Midwest (least populated), and Southeast regions (most populous and economically developed region). Additionally, the Southeast region allocated a higher amount of financial resources towards asthma-related hospitalizations.

Conclusions: Our results show that the number of deaths and hospitalizations due to asthma has significantly declined in the last two decades in Brazil, suggesting a better national management of the disease.