ENVIRONMENTAL AND SOCIOECONOMIC DETERMINANTS ASSOCIATED WITH CUTANEOUS LEISHMANIASIS IN THE BRAZILIAN AMAZON: AN INTEGRATIVE LITERATURE REVIEW

Abstract

This article aimed to analyze the environmental and socioeconomic determinants associated with the occurrence, distribution, or incidence of cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Brazilian Amazon. This is an integrative literature review conducted in the Virtual Health Library and PubMed/MEDLINE databases in May 2026, using controlled descriptors and free terms related to cutaneous leishmaniasis, the Brazilian Amazon, environmental factors, socioeconomic factors, social determinants of health, and deforestation. Original full-text articles published in Portuguese, English, or Spanish that directly addressed the topic in the Brazilian Amazon were included. The final sample consisted of seven studies. The results showed associations between the disease and deforestation, changes in land use and land cover, agricultural expansion, mining, secondary vegetation, rural and peri-urban occupation, low educational level, poverty, rural work, settlements, and unequal access to health services. It is concluded that cutaneous leishmaniasis in the Brazilian Amazon results from the interaction between environmental transformations, territorial occupation, social vulnerability, and limitations in epidemiological surveillance.