Análise epidemiológica dos casos de hanseníase no estado do maranhão entre 2018 e 2022

Abstract

Objective: To determine the epidemiological profile of leprosy cases in the state of Maranhão between 2018 and 2022. Methods: This is a cross-sectional, descriptive, retrospective study that used secondary data collected from the Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) from June 1 to 30, 2024. The variables analyzed were sex, race, education, age group, clinical form of the disease, operational classification, therapeutic regimen, health region, percentage of reactive episodes, and degree of disability at the end of treatment. Results and discussion: With a total of 16.514 cases of leprosy diagnoses registered during the historical period from 2018 to 2022, the state of Maranhão appears as the federative entity with the highest number of registered cases among the nine states in the Brazilian Northeast region. Despite a decrease in the last three years of the historical period, the number of cases of leprosy diagnoses registered in Maranhão is consistently high. Maranhão also follows the trend of the region by indicating men as the group with the highest prevalence of the disease in the region. Additionally, the age group of 40 to 49 years was the most affected by the disease during the period in absolute numbers (17.63%). It is worth noting that the age groups between 30 and 59 years together accounted for more than 50% of the reported cases, highlighting the predominance of the disease among the economically active population in the state of Maranhão. Furthermore, the most affected patients during this period, in a markedly disproportionate manner, were individuals identified as mixed race, representing 68.35% of the recorded diagnoses, followed by individuals identified as Black, Who accounted for 15.61% of the cases. Conclusion: The epidemiological analysis of leprosy in the state of Maranhão between 2018 and 2022 also revealed significant aspects about the evolution of the disease in the region, highlighting both the advances and the challenges persisting in controlling the disease. Maranhão, which has the highest incidence rates of the disease in the Northeast, not only maintained, but also recorded a high number of cases throughout the analyzed period, evidencing a situation of high endemicity.