| Autor: |
Domingues RC; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Gurgel ADM; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Santos RCD; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil.; Instituto de Saúde Coletiva, Universidade Federal da Bahia, Salvador, Brasil., Pereira JADS; Programa de Pós-graduação em Desenvolvimento e Meio Ambiente, Universidade Federal de Pernambuco, Recife, Brasil., Bezerra VCR; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Souza WV; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Santos MOSD; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil., Gurgel IGD; Instituto Aggeu Magalhães, Fundação Oswaldo Cruz, Recife, Brasil. |
| Abstrakt: |
This study aimed to analyze the relationship between hospitalizations for respiratory problems and the regular burning of sugarcane in Pernambuco State, Brazil. This is an ecological time series study corresponding to the period from 2008 to 2018. The rates of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases in children aged under 5 years and in adults older than 60 years in sugarcane-producing and non-producing municipalities were compared using nonparametric Mann-Whitney statistical analysis. Together, we observed the monthly distribution of the hot spots occurrences in the case and control municipalities and applied Pearson's correlation to analyze the association between both variables. For both age groups, hospitalization rates are higher in sugarcane-producing municipalities, with a statistically significant difference p < 0.005. The rate of hospitalization in older adults is 28% higher in the case municipalities, and is even higher in children aged under 5 years whose ratio of the medians is 40%. However, the seasonal behavior of hospitalizations for respiratory diseases differs from that observed in the monthly distribution of hot spots, without statistically significant correlation. These findings suggest a possible association with chronic exposure to particulates emitted by biomass burning, compromising the health of vulnerable groups, and endorse the need to replace fires in the monoculture of sugarcane and to structure public policies to protect human and environmental health. |
