Temporal trends and space-time distribution of leprosy relapse in Brazil from 2001 to 2021

Reagan Nzundu Boigny; Kellyn Kessiene de Sousa Cavalcante; Caroline Mary Gurgel Dias Florencio; Paula Sacha Frota Nogueira; Ciro Martins Gomes; Carlos Henrique Alencar

doi:10.1093/trstmh/trae021

Temporal trends and space-time distribution of leprosy relapse in Brazil from 2001 to 2021

Trans R Soc Trop Med Hyg. 2024 May 6:trae021. doi: 10.1093/trstmh/trae021. Online ahead of print.

Authors

Reagan Nzundu Boigny¹, Kellyn Kessiene de Sousa Cavalcante¹, Caroline Mary Gurgel Dias Florencio¹, Paula Sacha Frota Nogueira², Ciro Martins Gomes³, Carlos Henrique Alencar^{1

4}

Affiliations

¹ Federal University of Ceará, Faculty of Medicine, Postgraduate Program in Public Health, Prof. Costa Mendes street, 1608th - 5° Floor - Rodolfo Teófilo, Fortaleza, CE 60430-140, Brazil.
² Federal University of Ceará, Faculty of Pharmacy, Dentistry and Nursing, Department of Nursing, Alexandre Baraúna street, 1115th - Rodolfo Teófilo, Fortaleza, CE 60430-160, Brazil.
³ University of Brasília, Faculty of Medicine, Postgraduate Program in Medical Sciences, Campus Universitário Darcy Ribeiro, Brasília-DF, 70910-900, Brazil.
⁴ Federal University of Ceará, Faculty of Medicine, Postgraduate Program in Pathology, Alexandre Baraúna street, 949 - Rodolfo Teófilo, Fortaleza, CE 60430-160, Brazil.

PMID: 38708714
DOI: 10.1093/trstmh/trae021

Abstract

Background: To analyse the temporal trends and spatiotemporal distribution of leprosy relapse in Brazil from 2001 to 2021.

Methods: An ecological study with a temporal trend approach and space-time analysis of leprosy relapse in Brazil was carried out with data from the Notifiable Diseases Information System.

Results: A total of 31 334 patients who experienced leprosy relapse were identified. The number of recurrent cases tended to increase throughout the study period, and this increase was significant among females and in almost all age groups, except for those <15, 50-59 and ≥70 y. Several clusters of high- and low-risk patients were identified across all regions with a heterogeneous distribution.

Conclusions: The burden of relapse showed an increasing trend in some groups and was distributed in all regions.

Keywords: ecological studies; epidemiology; leprosy; spatial analysis; time series studies.