Impact of climate on hospitalizations for multiple sclerosis in Brazil

• Grant number: 20/03348-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: June 01, 2020
• End date: December 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Geosciences - Meteorology
• Principal Investigator: Marina Piacenti da Silva
• Grantee: Thiago Brasileiro Mendonça
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências (FC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Bauru. Bauru , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Among the many diseases that can be associated with climatic conditions is Multiple Sclerosis (MS), which consists of an autoimmune disease that affects the central nervous system, causing demyelination in neuronal cells. In this work, the influence of climate and meteorological variables on the number of hospitalizations for Multiple Sclerosis in different regions of Brazil will be evaluated. The casuistry considered will be the number of patients hospitalized due to outbreaks for MS between 2008 and 2019. The daily data for hospitalizations for MS will be obtained through the SUS Computer System - DATASUS and the meteorological data (average temperature, air humidity and solar radiation) of the National Institute of Meteorology (INMET). An exploratory analysis will be carried out through appropriate statistical tests and statistical models made to understand the relationship between the risk of hospitalization and the meteorological variables for each city/climate region. The knowledge of which meteorological variables may be associated with outbreaks and hospitalizations is extremely important, mainly to understand how these hospitalizations vary in different regions of the country, due to the fact that an intercontinental country like Brazil has different climatic characteristics. (AU)