Abstract
Objective
To analyze the spatial distribution of fetal mortality due to congenital syphilis among the neighborhoods of the city of Recife-PE.
Method
Ecological study, based on the epidemiological indicator fetal mortality rate due to congenital syphilis, aggregated at the neighborhood level, in two five-year periods: 2007 to 2011 and 2012 to 2016. The pattern of spatial autocorrelation was determined by the Moran Global and Local Indexes, with statistical significance lower than 5% and represented in BoxMap and MoranMap maps that indicated areas with high, low and epidemiological transition rates and clusters of greater epidemiological interest.
Results
It was reported 208 fetal deaths. The Moran Global Index showed a reasonable degree of positive spatial autocorrelation in the first five-year period (I = 0.351 and p-value = 0.01) and a weak degree in the second five-year period (I = 0.189 and p-value = 0.02). Sanitary Districts I and VII had the highest percentages of neighborhoods that formed the cluster of high rates of the indicator with 63.3% and 38.4% in the first and second five-year periods, respectively.
Conclusions and Implications for Practice
The spatial analysis pointed out the critical areas for the occurrence of the indicator, which could contribute to investment in priority areas for the prevention of vertical transmission of syphilis.
Keywords:
Spatial analysis; Congenital syphilis; Fetal mortality; Incidence; Vertical transmission