Mapping spatial morbidity patterns for bronchiolitis related to socioeconomic estimators: A spatial epidemiology approach to identify health disparities in Puerto Madryn, Argentina

PAZOS, BRUNO; MORALES, LEONARDO; RAMALLO, VIRGINIA; GONZÁLEZ-JOSÉ, ROLANDO; TAIRE, DAMIÁN L.; DE AZEVEDO, SOLEDAD

AMERICAN JOURNAL OF HUMAN BIOLOGY

WILEY-LISS, DIV JOHN WILEY & SONS INC

Lugar: New York; Año: 2023 vol. 35

1042-0533

AbstractObjectives: To describe the frequency of hospitalizations of infants under1 year of age with bronchiolitis in Puerto Madryn, Argentina, and to study thespatial distribution of cases throughout the city in relation to socioeconomicindicators. To visualize and better understand the underlying processes behindthe local manifestation of the disease by creating a vulnerability map ofthe city.Methods: We performed a cross-sectional study of all patients discharged forbronchiolitis from the local public Hospital in 2017, considering length of hospitalstay, readmission rate, patient age, home address and socioeconomic indicators(household overcrowding). To understand the local spatial distributionof the disease and its relationship to overcrowding, we used GIS and Moran´sglobal and local spatial autocorrelation indices.Results: The spatial distribution of bronchiolitis cases was not random, butsignificantly aggregated. Of the 120 hospitalized children, 100 infants (83.33%)live in areas identified as having at least one unsatisfied basic need (UBN). Wefound a positive and statistically significant relationship between frequency ofcases and percentage of overcrowded housing by census radius.Conclusions: A clear association was found between bronchiolitis and neighborhoodswith UBNs, and overcrowding is likely to be a particularly importantexplanatory factor in this association. By combining GIS tools, spatial statistics,geo-referenced epidemiological data, and population-level information, vulnerabilitymaps can be created to facilitate visualization of priority areas for developmentand implementation of more effective health interventions.Incorporating the spatial and syndemic perspective into health studies makesimportant contributions to the understanding of local health-disease processes.