BRIEF RESEARCH REPORT article
Front. Epidemiol.
Sec. Infectious Disease Epidemiology
Maternal Syphilis in The Federal District, Brazil: A Five-Year Analysis of Notified Data (2019–2023)
Provisionally accepted
Paula Beatriz Santiago1
Maria Eduarda Santiago Meneses2
Luiza De Lima Pereira3
Maria Fernanda Santiago Meneses2
Pâmela Araújo Da Silva4
Fabiana Nunes de Carvalho Mariz3
Ciro Martins Gomes3
Carla Nunes De Araújo3*- 1University of Brasilia, Brasilia, Brazil
- 2Unieuro, Brasilia, Distrito Federal, Brazil
- 3Programa de Pós-Graduação em Ciências Médicas, Universidade de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
- 4Universidade Católica de Brasília, Brasília, DF, Brazil
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Syphilis, caused by the bacterium Treponema pallidum, is among the most prevalent STIs globally and represents a significant public health challenge in Brazil. Vertical transmission can occur at any stage of pregnancy, leading to severe consequences such as miscarriage, stillbirth, preterm birth, and low birth weight. In severe cases, congenital syphilis may result, potentially causing deformities, neurological damage, or even neonatal death. Maternal syphilis (MS) occurrence is often influenced by social inequalities, meager income, and educational levels, which present further public health challenges. We evaluated the incidence of maternal syphilis in the Administrative Regions of the Federal District (FD), Brazil, from 2019 to 2023, highlighting the distribution of notified cases regarding the sociodemographic profile of affected pregnant women. We utilized data from the Info Saúde DF portal (https://info.saude.df.gov.br/sifilissalasit/) and the latest report from the most recent District Household Sample Survey. The cumulative incidence of MS was 25.3 cases per 1,000 live births. Simple linear regression analysis was used to assess the association between MS incidence and sociodemographic characteristics. A moderate negative correlation was observed (r = -0.4038), indicating that higher education levels are associated with a lower incidence of MS. Lower-income populations living in the FD, Brazil, face a heightened risk of maternal syphilis, possibly due to a combination of economic and social factors, suggesting that public health policies aimed at controlling the disease should prioritize this population.
Keywords: Maternal syphilis, Socioeconomic Factors, Demographic profiles, healthinequalities, Brazil
Received: 17 Apr 2025; Accepted: 27 Oct 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Santiago, Meneses, De Lima Pereira, Meneses, Araújo Da Silva, Mariz, Gomes and De Araújo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Carla Nunes De Araújo, cnunes@unb.br
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