# Work-related accidents involving venomous animals in Brazil (2019 2023): associated factors and health inequalities among workers

## TL;DR

Work-related venomous animal accidents in Brazil mostly affect vulnerable groups, highlighting health inequalities and the need for better prevention and healthcare access.

## Contribution

This study identifies sociodemographic and clinical factors associated with work-related venomous animal accidents in Brazil from 2019 to 2023.

## Key findings

- Work-related accidents accounted for 9.58% of all venomous animal accidents in Brazil between 2019 and 2023.
- Male sex, black/brown race, illiteracy, and snake-related accidents were significantly associated with work-related incidents.
- The model demonstrated good discriminatory ability with an ROC area of 72.56% and no multicollinearity.

## Abstract

In Brazil, accidents involving venomous animals represent a significant
health problem, affecting particularly vulnerable populations.

To analyze the factors associated with work-related accidents involving
venomous animals in Brazil between 2019 and 2023.

A cross-sectional study using secondary data from the Notifiable Diseases
Information System, including sociodemographic variables, accident
characteristics, and clinical manifestations. The analysis comprised
absolute and relative frequencies, prevalence ratios (PR) with 95%
confidence intervals, and robust Poisson regression for the multivariate
model. Multicollinearity was assessed using the Variance Inflation Factor,
and discriminatory ability was evaluated with the ROC curve.

Of the 1,442,464 reported cases of accidents involving venomous animals,
1,280,223 had valid data regarding work-relatedness; among these, 122,608
(9.58%) were classified as work-related. The mean age of victims was 36.5
years (SD = 21.0). Factors statistically associated with the outcome
included: male sex (PR=2.66), black/brown race (PR=1.08), yellow/indigenous
race (PR=1.24), illiteracy (PR=1.11), accidents involving snakes (PR=2.27),
spiders (PR=1.19), and other animals (PR=1.18), as well as injuries to upper
limbs (PR=1.23) and head (PR=1.12). The model showed an area under the ROC
curve of 72.56% and a variance inflation factors average of 2.15, indicating
good discriminatory capacity and absence of multicollinearity.

Work-related accidents involving venomous animals predominantly affect
vulnerable populations, reflecting social inequalities and gaps in worker
health protection. The importance of preventive strategies expanded access
to healthcare, and active surveillance in the territories-especially rural
areas-is emphasized.