Abstract General Information

Title

PREVALENCE OF SPINA BIFIDA IN BRAZIL: AN ANALYSIS BY STATE AND REGION WITH GENDER-SPECIFIC DIFFERENCES

Introduction and objective

Spina bifida is a severe congenital malformation that affects the Central Nervous System, involving the incomplete development of the spinal column and spinal cord, with significant impact on the quality of life of affected individuals. It can result in health complications and functional challenges throughout life, including the presence of some degree of continence-related difficulties. This study aims to gather data on the prevalence of spina bifida in Brazil by region, state, gender and type of the malformation, as well as investigate whether there is a significant difference in incidence between male and female populations. Additionally, there was an effort to estimate the total number of the population affected by spina bifida per Brazilian state.

Method

The data for this study was gathered from the Brazilian Information System on Live Births (SINASC), which is collected by the Ministry of Health's Surveillance Department (SVS). The data is from Jan to Dec 2021, the most recent update to the database.

Results

The results revealed a sizable prevalence of spina bifida in Brazil, with an average rate of 2.42 cases per 10,000 births. There was no significant difference between genders (males: 2.39 and females: 2.36), while there was variation between states and regions of the country. The state of Rondonia had the highest incidence of spina bifida for males (4.58 per 10,000), with the highest incidence for females being in the state of Ceará (4,59 per 10,000) and the highest estimated number of overall cases belonging to Sao Paulo (5,265), Brazil’s most populated state. Within the regions of Brazil, the Northeast had the highest average incidence rate (2.61 per 10,000), while the North region had the lowest (1.61 per 10,000). The most prevalent type of spina bifida was the unspecified spina bifida (ICD Q059).

Conclusion

The data gathered by this study is crucial for guiding public health policies and developing appropriate prevention and treatment strategies, as well as identifying possible gaps around the notification of spina bifida cases within Brazilian states.