Assessing epidemiology of leprosy and socio-economic distribution of cases

Abstract

Leprosy still represents a serious health problem in a number of countries, including Brazil. Although leprosy has been associated with poverty for a long time, it is still difficult to accurately define this relationship. Here, we evaluated in an endemic municipality the progress from 1995 to 2015 of epidemiological indicators to establish if there were any strong associations between social indicators and the occurrence of leprosy. An ecological study was conducted using the SINAN database (Brazilian leprosy-national notifiable diseases information system) in combination with georeferencing of leprosy cases. The georeferencing used the ArcGis programme and occurrence of cases was evaluated in relation to the Health Vulnerability Index (HVI), an indicator that categorises socio-economic and sanitation factors. The data identified a marked decrease in the overall prevalence of leprosy, a reduction in the new case-detection rate and a reduction in the number of cases with grade 2 disabilities (albeit with transient peaks in 2007 and 2015). Logistic regression analysis showed association of detection rates with elevated HVI. Thus, while the epidemiological indicators point to the elimination of leprosy, there is evidence of hidden cases and an association between higher rates of leprosy detection and greater social vulnerability remain.

Serum level of Selenium, Zinc, and Vitamin C and their relation to the clinical spectrum of leprosy

“…The long incubation period is considered one of the reasons that makes it difficult to investigate causal relationships between the circumstances at the time of infection and the onset of clinical symptoms years later [7]. The association between poverty and leprosy has been recognized for a long time, with several associated variables that include agglomeration, low educational level, low nutritive diet, and social inequality [8]. Egypt is considered to be one of those developing countries in which leprosy is still endemic, probably due to the fact that Egypt is currently one of the nations with the largest total number of people living in poverty among the Middle East and North African countries [9].…”

Características socioeconomicas e epidemiológicas da hanseníase no Maranhão

“…Destacam-se as altas proporções de pessoas de cor da pele parda e com ensino fundamental incompleto, entre os casos de hanseníase, o que se assemelha aos resultados de outras pesquisas (15,14,17,18) .…”

Características epidemiológicas da hanseníase nos idosos e comparação com outros grupos etários, Brasil (2016-2018)

“…Tais achados foram semelhantes àqueles de Silva et al 13 e Diniz & Maciel 8 . Outros estudos revelaram associação entre altas taxas de detecção de hanseníase e fatores socioeconômicos precários, como baixa escolaridade e alto índice de vulnerabilidade social 14,15 .…”