Applying fuzzy qualitative comparative analysis to identify typical symptoms of COVID-19 infection in a primary care unit, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

This study aims to identify a set of symptoms that could be predictive of SARS-CoV-2 cases in the triage of Primary Care services with the contribution of Qualitative Comparative Analysis (QCA) using Fuzzy Sets (fsQCA). A cross-sectional study was carried out in a Primary Health Care Unit/FIOCRUZ from 09/17/2020 to 05/05/2021. The study population was suspect cases that performed diagnostic tests for COVID-19. We collected information about the symptoms to identify which configurations are associated with positive and negative cases. For analysis, we used fsQCA to explain the outcomes "being a positive case" and "not being a positive case". The solution term "loss of taste or smell and no headache" showed the highest degree of association with the positive result (consistency = 0.81). The solution term "absence of loss of taste or smell combined with the absence of fever" showed the highest degree of association (consistency = 0,79) and is the one that proportionally best explains the negative result. Our results may be useful to the presumptive clinical diagnosis of COVID-19 in scenarios where access to diagnostic tests is not available. We used an innovative method used in complex problems in Public Health, the fsQCA.

The Effect of Continuous Low-Intensity Exposure to Electromagnetic Fields from Radio Base Stations to Cancer Mortality in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: this study aims to estimate the rate of death by cancer as a result of Radio Base Station (RBS) radiofrequency exposure, especially for breast, cervix, lung, and esophagus cancers. METHODS: we collected information on the number of deaths by cancer, gender, age group, gross domestic product per capita, death year, and the amount of exposure over a lifetime. We investigated all cancer types and some specific types (breast, cervix, lung, and esophagus cancers). RESULTS: in capitals where RBS radiofrequency exposure was higher than 2000/antennas-year, the average mortality rate was 112/100,000 for all cancers. The adjusted analysis showed that, the higher the exposure to RBS radiofrequency, the higher cancer mortality was. The highest adjusted risk was observed for cervix cancer (rate ratio = 2.18). The spatial analysis showed that the highest RBS radiofrequency exposure was observed in a city in southern Brazil that also showed the highest mortality rate for all types of cancer and specifically for lung and breast cancer. CONCLUSION: the balance of our results indicates that exposure to radiofrequency electromagnetic fields from RBS increases the rate of death for all types of cancer.

Trends in AIDS incidence in individuals aged 50 years or older in the city of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1982-2011: an age-period-cohort analysis.

OBJECTIVE: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of three temporal components of AIDS incidence (i.e., age, period and cohort) on individuals aged 50 or older living in Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro (Brazil). METHODS: Age-specific incidence rates were calculated from 1982-2011. Negative binomial and Poisson models were used to analyze the risk of AIDS by age, period and cohort. RESULTS: The risk of AIDS in men was 2.45 times higher than in women, regardless of age and period (p-value < 0.001). The incidence of AIDS in individuals older than 69 years was 7-fold lower than in those aged 50-59 years (p-value < 0.001). A decreasing trend in AIDS risk was observed from the youngest cohort (≥ 1940) to the oldest (1910-1919). From 1982 to 2006, we could detect an increasing trend in AIDS risk in the population aged 50 years or older. A peak in rates was detected in the period from 2002-2006. The incidence rates in 2002-2006 were six times higher than those in 1987-1991 (p-value < 0.001), independent of age and sex (p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSIONS: An increase of AIDS risk in older people was detected. This group should not be neglected by public health programs.