Prevalence of soft tissue oral lesion in elderly and its relations with deleterious habits.

INTRODUCTION: With ageing, the oral mucosa becomes more susceptible to external stimuli. OBJECTIVE: To investigate the prevalence of soft tissue oral lesion in elderly and its relations with deleterious habits. MATERIALS AND METHODS: It was a quantitative research conducted at the dental clinic of UNIFOR, Fortaleza-CE, in the period from 1998 to 2006. The sample consisted of all 756 records of the elderly, and the data were processed by SPSS 15.0 (SPSS, Inc., Chicago, IL, USA). RESULTS: The majority (63.0) were women, age 60-92, mean age 67 ± 6. The most significant proportions were married (48.4%), retired (42.3%) and incomplete primary school (31.5%). It was found a prevalence of 18.3% of oral lesions, with the risk being 1.6 times higher (p = 0.030) among youngest (up to 65 years) and 1.7 times higher among smokers (p = 0.048). Although this risk is 1.6 times higher among those who drank alcohol, it was not statistically significant (p = 0.122). CONCLUSION: The elderly showed a high prevalence of oral lesion, being the youngest, the smokers and the alcohol consumers those most vulnerable to the emergence of these diseases. Dental services need to implement programs of elderly care and health education, essential to clarify the risks and their associations with oral diseases, aiming to promote health.

The association between blood pressure in adolescents and the consumption of fruits, vegetables and fruit juice--an exploratory study.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to correlate blood pressure levels with the consumption of fruit, vegetables and pulses and fruit juice among Brazilian adolescents. BACKGROUND: Scientific evidence has shown a relationship between the regular consumption of vegetables and the prevention of cardiovascular disturbances, such as arterial hypertension, cerebrovascular disease and dyslipidemia. DESIGN: A cross-sectional and correlational study was designed involving a random sample of 794 adolescents from 12 private schools located in a metropolitan area in the north-east of Brazil. METHOD: The subjects responded to a questionnaire structured so as to investigate their regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, pulses and juice. Blood pressure was measured three times, with an interval of one minute between each measurement. The average of the last two measurements was used for the study. The chi-square test, Kruskal-Wallis test and Spearman's rank correlation were used to investigate the association between blood pressure and the consumption of fruit, vegetables, pulses and juice. RESULTS: Lower values of systolic and diastolic blood pressure were identified in adolescents with a consumption of fruit ≥twice daily (p<0·001). In the case of vegetables and pulses, systolic blood pressure was lower among adolescents who consumed more of this type of food (p=0·021). CONCLUSIONS: This study concluded that adolescents who consume more fruit have lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, while those who regularly consume vegetables and pulses also had lower levels of systolic pressure. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: The results of this study suggest that nurses can develop health education activities in schools to encourage the consumption of fruits, vegetables, pulses and fruit juices, especially among those adolescents who are more likely to develop arterial hypertension.

Psychometric assessment of the Brazilian version of the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale.

OBJECTIVES: The purpose of this study was to translate and psychometrically assess the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) among women living in Fortaleza, CE, Brazil, and examine the relationship between breastfeeding self-efficacy (BSE) and maternal demographic variables. DESIGN AND SAMPLE: This methodological study is the first translation of BSES conducted in South America. The psychometric assessment of the original study was replicated. This methodological study enrolled a group (sample of judgment) of 117 pregnant women. MEASURES: BSES and maternal sociodemographic variables were studied. RESULTS: The Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the translated BSES was .88. Significant differences in BSES scores were found among mothers with a previous satisfactory breastfeeding experience (M = 145.81; SD = + or - 6.82, p = .0001). Significant relationships were found among prenatal BSE and maternal age (r = .228; p = .01), educational level (r = .234; p = .01), and marital status (r = .183; p = .04). No relationship was found among BSE and maternal occupation, family income, or number of pregnancies. CONCLUSIONS: Altogether, our findings suggest that BSES translated into Portuguese may be a reliable and valid measure to assess maternal BSE in Brazilian culture. Minor changes may be needed to use it in other Portuguese-speaking countries, such as Portugal and Mozambique.