Doenças negligenciadas no Brasil : mapeamento de uma década de ocorrências

Abstract

Neglected diseases are illnesses that affect populations with limited access to health services. This study focuses on eight neglected diseases in Brazil, such as Chagas Disease, Leprosy, Tegumentary Leishmaniasis, Visceral Leishmaniasis, Malaria, Tuberculosis, Dengue, and Schistosomiasis. These diseases represent public health problems and are endemic in different regions of the country. The work is innovative in analyzing neglected diseases in Brazil, considering their spatial dimension, identifying the spatial determinants associated with their spread and persistence over the last few decades. The study maps the areas most affected by these diseases, identifies significant predictive variables, and provides subsidies to guide the implementation of more effective preventive and control measures in public health. In addition, it seeks to contribute to the development of innovative methodologies for mapping these diseases and meeting the global goals established by the World Health Organization. The methodological proposal of the work focuses on the generalized linear model (GLM) at two scales (municipal and pixel by pixel). Socioeconomic and environmental variables were analyzed as explanatory factors and predictors of the occurrence of these diseases. A total of 14,514,304 cases were registered in the period from 2010 to 2020. The predictive variables that most influence the number of cases are: Altitude, population density, literacy, primary care, garbage collection, rural environment, sanitation, electricity, precipitation, and temperature. The most vulnerable areas (GLM) and clusters of municipalities with similar numbers of cases were identified. As practical implications, these results make it possible to identify the regions most affected and vulnerable by neglected diseases, providing subsidies for the implementation of more effective preventive measures and control of public health in Brazil.