| Socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioural risk factors for leprosy in North-east Brazil: results of a case-control study. | |
| | |
MedLine Citation:
|
PMID: 16645029 Owner: NLM Status: MEDLINE |
Abstract/OtherAbstract:
|
BACKGROUND: Brazil reports almost 80% of all leprosy cases in the Americas. This study aimed to identify socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioural factors associated with risk of leprosy occurrence in the endemic North-eastern region. METHODS: A case-control study in four municipalities. Cases: cases of leprosy diagnosed in the previous 2 years, with no other known, current, or past case of leprosy in the household or in the neighbourhood. Controls: individuals presenting for reasons other than skin problems to the health unit where the case was diagnosed and who lived in the same municipality as the case with whom it was matched. For each case four controls were selected. A semi-structured questionnaire was used to collect demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, and behavioural data. A multivariate hierarchical analysis was performed according to a previously defined framework. RESULTS: 226 cases and 857 controls were examined. Low education level, ever having experienced food shortage, bathing weekly in open water bodies (creek, river and/or lake) 10 years previously, and a low frequency of changing bed linen or hammock (>or=biweekly) currently were all significantly associated with leprosy. Having a BCG vaccination scar was found to be a highly significant protective factor. CONCLUSIONS: Except for BCG vaccination, variables that remained significant in the hierarchical analysis are cultural or linked to poverty. They may act on different levels of the transmission of Mycobacterium leprae and/or the progress from infection to disease. These findings give credit to the hypothesis that person-to-person is not the only form of M. leprae transmission, and that indirect transmission might occur, and other reservoirs should exist outside the human body. |
| | |
Authors:
|
Ligia R S Kerr-Pontes; Maurício L Barreto; Clara M N Evangelista; Laura C Rodrigues; Jorg Heukelbach; Hermann Feldmeier |
Related Documents
:
|
3790879 - Organic factors in catatonia. 12705339 - Angiogenin and gestational trophoblastic tumors, a promising prognostic marker. 37989 - Neurotransmitter-related enzymes in senile dementia of the alzheimer type. 11487219 - Epidemiology of multiple system atrophy. esgap consortium. european study group on atyp... 2382679 - Serum soluble interleukin-2 receptor in patients with glomerulonephritis. 8323659 - Development of a collision typology for evaluation of collision avoidance strategies. 22606429 - Postoperative bowel perforation due to heterotopic ossification (myositis ossificans tr... 15985819 - Unusual reactions to insect stings. 9092319 - Locating and appraising systematic reviews. |
Publication Detail:
|
Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't Date: 2006-04-27 |
Journal Detail:
|
Title: International journal of epidemiology Volume: 35 ISSN: 0300-5771 ISO Abbreviation: Int J Epidemiol Publication Date: 2006 Aug |
Date Detail:
|
Created Date: 2006-08-25 Completed Date: 2007-07-13 Revised Date: - |
Medline Journal Info:
|
Nlm Unique ID: 7802871 Medline TA: Int J Epidemiol Country: England |
Other Details:
|
Languages: eng Pagination: 994-1000 Citation Subset: IM |
Affiliation:
|
Departamento de Saúde Comunitária, Faculdade de Medicina, Universidade Federal do Ceará, R: Prof. Costa Mendes, 1608-5o Andar, CEP 60431-140 Fortaleza, CE, Brazil. ligia@ufc.br |
Export Citation:
|
APA/MLA Format Download EndNote Download BibTex |
| MeSH Terms | |
Descriptor/Qualifier:
|
Adult Aged Bedding and Linens Brazil Case-Control Studies Disease Reservoirs Educational Status Female Food Deprivation Humans Hygiene Leprosy / etiology*, transmission Male Middle Aged Multivariate Analysis Mycobacterium bovis Mycobacterium leprae* Odds Ratio Residence Characteristics Risk Assessment / methods Risk Factors |
From MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine
Previous Document: Subclinical adenomas in postmortem pituitaries: classification and correlations to clinical data.
Next Document: GABA controls the level of quorum-sensing signal in Agrobacterium tumefaciens.