title: [Hepatitis A in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: epidemiological pattern and socio-environmental variables. Cross-analysis of SINAN and population census data].
abstract: This article discusses the linking of data from SINAN (the Reportable Diseases Database) and population census in Brazil to identify the socio-environmental context of hepatitis A, analyzing the contribution by environmental and socio-demographic variables to reported and confirmed cases of hepatitis A. Also, based on individual case data provided by SINAN, we discuss the pattern of hepatitis A endemicity in the city of Rio de Janeiro. At the aggregate level, the unit of analysis was the census tract and census data, associated with the location of 1,553 cases in the city from 1999 to 2001. The observed pattern was high to medium endemicity, indicating a less favorable situation than observed by sero-epidemiological studies. The mean rank of number of households with unfavorable conditions was higher in the census tracts with excess risk of hepatitis A (two or more cases), a statistically significant result according to the Mann-Whitney Test. Socio-demographic variables had more impact than environmental ones (poverty and children in the household less than 5 years of age showed the highest mean ranks).
authors.affiliation: Mestrado de Ciências Médicas, Universidade Federal Fluminense, Niterói, Brasil.
authors.forename: Patrícia de Castro
authors.initials: Pde C
authors.lastname: Silva
authors.forename: Cláudia Lamarca
authors.initials: CL
authors.lastname: Vitral
authors.forename: Christovam
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Barcellos
authors.forename: Helia
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Kawa
authors.forename: Renata
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Gracie
authors.forename: Maria Luiza Garcia
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Rosa
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D017677:Age Distribution; D001938:Brazil / Q000453:epidemiology; D019352:Censuses; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D018563:Disease Notification; D004777:Environment; D005260:Female; D006506:Hepatitis A / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000401:mortality; D006801:Humans; D007223:Infant; D007231:Infant, Newborn; D007256:Information Systems; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009017:Morbidity; D012307:Risk Factors; D012725:Sexual Behavior; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D018709:Statistics, Nonparametric