Title: Inequalities in the geographic distribution of chronic diseases in Brazil: an index methodology

Authors: Simone Maria Da Silva Lima; Caroline Maria De Miranda Mota; Danielle Freitas Santos Marinho

Addresses: Management Engineering Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil ' Management Engineering Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil ' Management Engineering Department, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco (UFPE), Brazil

Abstract: The purpose of the present article is to compare the geographic distribution of nine chronic diseases in Brazil: arterial hypertension, arthritis/rheumatism, back/spine, bronchitis/asthma, cancer, chronic renal failure, depression, diabetes and heart disease. The data used is from the Brazilian National Health Survey (PNS) composed of 60,202 participants (≥ 18 years old). The morbidity rate of diseases was calculated for 27 units of Brazil. A geographic chronic disease index (gCDI) was formulated as a summary measure to group and compare the distribution of these illnesses based on factor analysis (FA). The observation of trends in health-related indexes and maps can be an advantage to analyse large databases. The final index indicated regional differences showing that the South of Brazil had more individuals with chronic diseases compared to the North of the country mainly for arterial hypertension, depression, diabetes, and heart disease.

Keywords: public health; Brazilian National Health Survey; PNS; Brazil; non-communicable diseases; NCDs; chronic disease index; factor analysis.

DOI: 10.1504/IJDATS.2022.124732

International Journal of Data Analysis Techniques and Strategies, 2022 Vol.14 No.2, pp.89 - 104

Received: 07 Jun 2021
Accepted: 20 Oct 2021
Published online: 08 Aug 2022 *

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