Medical genetics workforce in Brazil: practitioners, services, and disease distribution

Abstract

PurposeIn anticipation of the implementation of personalized medicine (PM) in Brazil we assessed the demographic characteristics of its medical genetics workforce together with the distribution of rare genetic diseases (RGD) and hereditary cancer syndromes (HCS) across municipalities in the country. MethodsWe used demographic data from an earlier report on medical specialties, and open databases providing summarized data on the public and private healthcare systems, for the years 2019 and 2020. In the public system we considered RGD live births and hospitalizations, and HCS mortality. In the private system we obtained data on RGD, HCS and genetic counselling appointments. ResultsThe 332 registered medical geneticists (MGs) were mostly female, attended a public medical school, and were predominantly registered in the Southeast. The distribution of MGs overlapped the country-wise distribution of all types of genetic disease and service examined, indicating that [~]30% of the patient population has access to a MG specialist. ConclusionThe Brazilian MG workforce is concentrated in the richest and most populated areas and while it covers a significant proportion of the population there are vast regions with very limited services. The public health system should address these inequalities for a successful transition to PM.