Admissions due to pneumonia and biomass burning: a spatial approach
Luiz Fernando C Nascimento1, Andréa Paula Peneluppi de Medeiros
1Universidade de Taubaté, Taubaté, SP, Brazil. luiz.nascimento@unitau.br
Insights
This study analyzed child pneumonia hospitalizations and fires in Mato Grosso, Brazil. It identified specific areas needing intervention to reduce both pneumonia admissions and fire incidents.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology
- Spatial Analysis
Background:
- Childhood pneumonia is a significant health concern.
- Wildfires and environmental factors can influence respiratory illnesses.
- Understanding spatial disease patterns is crucial for public health interventions.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate spatial relationships between childhood pneumonia admissions and reported fires in Mato Grosso, Brazil.
- To identify geographical hotspots for pneumonia admissions and fire occurrences.
- To inform targeted public health strategies.
Main Methods:
- Ecological and exploratory study using data from Mato Grosso, Brazil (2008-2009).
- Analysis of hospital admissions for pneumonia in children aged 0-4 years.
- Spatial analysis including choropleth mapping and Moran's I to identify clusters and hotspots of pneumonia and fires.
Main Results:
- Significant spatial clustering of fires was observed along the "arc of deforestation."
- Four municipalities showed elevated rates of childhood pneumonia admissions.
- Two regions exhibited high densities of pneumonia admissions, indicating potential hotspots.
Conclusions:
- Specific municipalities in Mato Grosso require targeted interventions to address high rates of childhood pneumonia.
- Reducing the number of fires is essential for mitigating pneumonia risks.
- Spatial analysis is a valuable tool for identifying areas needing public health action.
Objective:
To identify spatial patterns in rates of admission for pneumonia among children and relate them to the number of fires reported in the state of Mato Grosso, Brazil.
Methods:
We conducted an ecological and exploratory study of data from the state of Mato Grosso for 2008 and 2009 on hospital admissions of children aged 0 to 4 years due to pneumonia and on fires in the same period. Admission rates were calculated and choropleth maps were plotted for rates and for fire outbreaks, Moran's I was calculated and the kernel estimator used to identify "hotspots." Data were analyzed using TerraView 3.3.1.
Results:
Fifteen thousand six hundred eighty-nine children were hospitalized (range zero to 2,315), and there were 161,785 fires (range 7 to 6,454). The average rate of admissions per 1,000 inhabitants was 2.89 (standard deviation [SD] = 5.18) and the number of fires per 1,000 inhabitants was 152.81 (SD = 199.91). Moran's I for the overall number of admissions was I = 0.02 (p = 0.26), the index for rate of admission was I = 0.02 (p = 0.21) and the index for the number of fires was I = 0.31 (p < 0.01). It proved possible to identify four municipalities with elevated rates of admissions for pneumonia. It was also possible to identify two regions with high admission densities. A clustering of fires was evident along what is known as the "arc of deforestation."
Conclusions:
This study identified municipalities in the state of Mato Grosso that require interventions to reduce rates of admission due to pneumonia and the number fires.
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