Objectives: to investigate macro-regional disparities in the incidence of leprosy in children and adolescents under 15 years old in Brazil from 2001 to 2022, with a focus on leprosy-related disabilities.
Methods: an ecological study was carried out with data from the Brazilian Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN). The annual number of leprosy cases was normalized to every 100,000 residents in each macro-region (incidence), stratified by leprosy-related disability (grade 0, 1 and 2). The significance level was set at 5%, and Poisson regression adjusted for a robust dispersion was used to estimate the incidence ratio.
Results: approximately 14% (7,694) of all leprosy cases in this age group were notified with grade 1 (78.9%) or 2 (21.1%) disability. Moreover, in grade 1 and 2, the incidence of leprosy was significantly higher in the North, Northeast and Central-West macro-regions when compared to the national estimate, as well as significantly lower in the Southeast and South (p-value <0.05).
Conclusion: macro-regional disparities were observed in the incidence of leprosy in children and adolescents under 15 years old with grade 1 or 2 disability in Brazil from 2001 to 2022.
}, year = {2024}, journal = {Journal of Health & Biological Sciences}, volume = {12}, pages = {1-8}, publisher = {Instituto para o Desenvolvimento da Educacao}, issn = {2317-3076, 2317-3084}, url = {https://unichristus.emnuvens.com.br/jhbs/article/view/5281/2024}, doi = {10.12662/2317-3076jhbs.v12i1.5281.p1-8.2024}, language = {ENG}, }