Tuberculosis risks and socio-economic level: a case study of a city in the Brazilian south-east, 1998-2004.
OBJECTIVE
To explore tuberculosis (TB) risks in relation to potential determinants in the city of São José do Rio Preto, São Paulo State, Brazil; to analyse morbidity and mortality indicators in São José do Rio Preto, and to determine the relationship between the risk of TB and socio-economic level (SEL) using a geo-referenced information system (GIS) and the national census for 2000.


METHODS
Standardised incidence rates and TB incidence and mortality rates were calculated. Socio-economic variables were determined using the statistical technique of principal component analysis. Data sources were the São Paulo State Data Analysis System (SEADE), the TB Notification Database (EPI-TB), the Information Department of the Brazilian Health Ministry (DATASUS), and the Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE). New cases reported in 1998-1999 and 2003-2004 in the urban area of the city were geo-referenced and analysed.


RESULTS
TB risk in the city is twice as high in areas of lower SEL than in areas with higher SEL.


CONCLUSIONS
The identification of areas with different levels of risk enables the Municipal Health Department to propose innovative interventions to minimise the risk of disease at both individual and population level.
Vendramini
S H F
SH
Department of Nursing in Collective Health and Professional Orientation, College of Nursing, University of Medicine of São José do Rio Preto (FAMERP), São José do Rio Preto, Brazil.
Santos
M L S G
ML
Gazetta
C E
CE
Chiaravalloti-Neto
F
F
Ruffino-Netto
A
A
Villa
T C S
TC
D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D015994:Incidence; D008297:Male; D011788:Quality of Life; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D015996:Survival Rate; D014376:Tuberculosis / Q000191:economics* / Q000453:epidemiology*; D014505:Urban Population