OBJECTIVE: To identify clusters of the major occurrences of leprosy and their associated socioeconomic and demographic factors. METHODS: Cases of leprosy that occurred between 1998 and 2007 in São José do Rio Preto (southeastern Brazil) were geocodified and the incidence rates were calculated by census tract. A socioeconomic classification score was obtained using principal component analysis of socioeconomic variables. Thematic maps to visualize the spatial distribution of the incidence of leprosy with respect to socioeconomic levels and demographic density were constructed using geostatistics. RESULTS: While the incidence rate for the entire city was 10.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants annually between 1998 and 2007, the incidence rates of individual census tracts were heterogeneous, with values that ranged from 0 to 26.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Areas with a high leprosy incidence were associated with lower socioeconomic levels. There were identified clusters of leprosy cases, however there was no association between disease incidence and demographic density. There was a disparity between the places where the majority of ill people lived and the location of healthcare services. CONCLUSIONS: The spatial analysis techniques utilized identified the poorer neighborhoods of the city as the areas with the highest risk for the disease. These data show that health departments must prioritize politico-administrative policies to minimize the effects of social inequality and improve the standards of living, hygiene, and education of the population in order to reduce the incidence of leprosy.
OBJECTIVE: To identify clusters of the major occurrences of leprosy and their associated socioeconomic and demographic factors. METHODS: Cases of leprosy that occurred between 1998 and 2007 in São José do Rio Preto (southeastern Brazil) were geocodified and the incidence rates were calculated by census tract. A socioeconomic classification score was obtained using principal component analysis of socioeconomic variables. Thematic maps to visualize the spatial distribution of the incidence of leprosy with respect to socioeconomic levels and demographic density were constructed using geostatistics. RESULTS: While the incidence rate for the entire city was 10.4 cases per 100,000 inhabitants annually between 1998 and 2007, the incidence rates of individual census tracts were heterogeneous, with values that ranged from 0 to 26.9 cases per 100,000 inhabitants per year. Areas with a high leprosy incidence were associated with lower socioeconomic levels. There were identified clusters of leprosy cases, however there was no association between disease incidence and demographic density. There was a disparity between the places where the majority of ill people lived and the location of healthcare services. CONCLUSIONS: The spatial analysis techniques utilized identified the poorer neighborhoods of the city as the areas with the highest risk for the disease. These data show that health departments must prioritize politico-administrative policies to minimize the effects of social inequality and improve the standards of living, hygiene, and education of the population in order to reduce the incidence of leprosy.
Authors: Carlos Dornels Freire de Souza; Carlos Feitosa Luna; Mônica de Avelar Figueiredo Mafra Magalhães Journal: An Bras Dermatol Date: 2019-05-09 Impact factor: 1.896
Authors: Vagner Wilian Batista E Sá; Maria Katia Gomes; Maria Luíza Sales Rangel; Tiago Arruda Sanchez; Filipe Azaline Moreira; Sebastian Hoefle; Inaiacy Bittencourt Souto; Antônio José Ledo Alves da Cunha; Ana Paula Fontana; Claudia Domingues Vargas Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2015-07-23
Authors: Lorena Dias Monteiro; Rosa Maria Salani Mota; Francisco Rogerlândio Martins-Melo; Carlos Henrique Alencar; Jorg Heukelbach Journal: Rev Saude Publica Date: 2017-07-20 Impact factor: 2.106
Authors: Antônio Carlos Vieira Ramos; Mellina Yamamura; Luiz Henrique Arroyo; Marcela Paschoal Popolin; Francisco Chiaravalloti Neto; Pedro Fredemir Palha; Severina Alice da Costa Uchoa; Flávia Meneguetti Pieri; Ione Carvalho Pinto; Regina Célia Fiorati; Ana Angélica Rêgo de Queiroz; Aylana de Souza Belchior; Danielle Talita Dos Santos; Maria Concebida da Cunha Garcia; Juliane de Almeida Crispim; Luana Seles Alves; Thaís Zamboni Berra; Ricardo Alexandre Arcêncio Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2017-02-27
Authors: Julia Moreira Pescarini; Agostino Strina; Joilda Silva Nery; Lacita Menezes Skalinski; Kaio Vinicius Freitas de Andrade; Maria Lucia F Penna; Elizabeth B Brickley; Laura C Rodrigues; Mauricio Lima Barreto; Gerson Oliveira Penna Journal: PLoS Negl Trop Dis Date: 2018-07-09
Authors: Luana Nepomuceno Gondim Costa Lima; Cristiane Cunha Frota; Rosa Maria Salani Mota; Rosa Livia Freitas Almeida; Maria Araci de Andrade Pontes; Heitor de Sá Gonçalves; Laura Cunha Rodrigues; Carl Kendall; Ligia Kerr Journal: Mem Inst Oswaldo Cruz Date: 2015-11 Impact factor: 2.743