Prevalence and severity of asthma and related symptoms in 6- to 7-year-old schoolchildren of Rio de Janeiro using of the ISAAC questionnaire by telephone survey.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the prevalence and severity of asthma and its association with sex in 6- to 7-year-old schoolchildren from the city of Rio de Janeiro (RJ), obtained by a telephone survey. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using the International Study of Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) Written Questionnaire for Asthma adapted and validated by telephone interviews was conducted. The random sample was recruited systematically, without replacement, taking into account the proportion of school classes and students in each regional coordination of the Municipal Secretariat of Education, which supplied the students' telephone numbers. The data were collected by a polling company from May to July 2010. Prevalence ratios (PRs) and 95% confidence intervals (95% CI) were compared using the difference in proportions test suitable for large samples to analyze the association between asthma and sex. RESULTS: In total, 3216 interviews from parents/caregivers of children were analyzed; 51.4% of the children were males. Mothers were the primary respondents (71.9%). The prevalence rates of "wheezing ever" and "wheezing in the last 12 months" were 52.2% and 20.9%, respectively, and were significantly higher among boys (PR: 1.10, 95% CI: 1.03-1.18 and PR: 1.27, 95% CI: 1.10-1.45). The same pattern was observed for "asthma ever" (PR: 1.44, 95% CI: 1.12-1.85) and for "severe asthma" (PR: 1.42, 95% CI: 1.11-1.82). CONCLUSION: The prevalence of asthma was high among RJ's students. Most of the indicators of the disease were more prevalent among boys. Our results were similar to those observed in other Brazilian and international centers using the traditional ISAAC protocol. The use of this method can be an alternative for epidemiological studies of childhood asthma especially in areas where the telephone coverage is high.

Gender differences in the association of perceived social support and social network with self-rated health status among older adults: a population-based study in Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Older adults are more likely to live alone, because they may have been predeceased by their spouse and friends. Social interaction could also be reduced in this age group due by limited mobility caused by chronic conditions. Therefore, aging is frequently accompanied by reduced social support, which might affect health status. Little is known about the role of gender in the relationship between social support and health in older adults. Hence, the present study tests the hypothesis that gender differences exist in the relationship between perceived social support, social network, and self-rated health (SRH) among older adults. METHODS: A cross-sectional study using two-stage probabilistic sampling recruited 3,649 individuals aged 60 years and above. Data were collected during the national influenza vaccination campaign in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in 2006. Individual interviews collected information on SRH, perceived social support, social network, and other covariates. Multivariate logistic regression analyses using nested models were conducted separately for males and females. Independent variables were organised into six blocks: (1) perceived social support and social network, (2) age group, (3) socioeconomic characteristics, (4) health-related behaviours, (5) use of health care services, (6) functional status measures and somatic health problems. RESULTS: Older men who did not participate in group activities were more likely to report poor SRH compared to those who did, (OR = 1.63; 95% CI = 1.16-2.30). Low perceived social support predicted the probability of poor SRH in women (OR = 1.64; 95% CI = 1.16-2.34). Poor SRH was associated with low age, low income, not working, poor functional capacity, and depression in both men and women. More somatic health problems were associated with poor SRH in women. CONCLUSIONS: The association between social interactions and SRH varies between genders. Low social network involvement is associated with poor SRH in older men, whereas low perceived social support is associated with poor SRH in older women. The hypothesis that the relationship of perceived social support and social networks to SRH differs according to gender has been confirmed.

Associação entre rede e apoio social com auto-avaliação da saúde em idosos residentes do Município do Rio de Janeiro / Association between social support network and self-rated health among elderly residents in the city of Rio de Janeiro

A concepção de saúde para o idoso dever incorporar aspectos sociais, além da presença de doenças. Apesar do idoso tender a um maior isolamento familiar e social poucos estudos investigaram se os relacionamentos sociais estão relacionados à medidas subjetivas da saúde no idoso. O objetivo deste estudo foi investigar a associação entre rede e apoio social com a auto-avaliação da saúde em idosos, segundo sexo. Os dados são provenientes da 1ª Pesquisa sobre Condições de Saúde e Vida de Idosos realizada pela Secretaria Municipal de Saúde e Defesa Civil do Rio de Janeiro. Trata-se de um estudo seccional com idosos de 60 anos ou mais de idade a partir de uma amostra probabilística em dois estágios de seleção durante a campanha de vacinação contra gripe em 2006. O desfecho foi auto-avaliação da saúde (boa e ruim) e as variáveis independentes foram organizadas em seis blocos: 1) rede e apoio social, 2)características sócio-econômicas, 3) comportamentos relacionados à saúde, 4) acesso à serviços de saúde, 5) capacidade funcional e morbidade referida e 6) idade. A análisedos dados foi conduzida por sexo. Regressão logística multivariada hierarquizada foi empregada (...) após análise bi-variada para seleção das variáveis independentes (...). Razões de chance e intervalos de confiança de 95 por cento (IC95 por cento) foram calculados. A amostra compreendeu 3.649 idosos e a faixa etária predominante foi de 60 a 69 anos. A maioria dos participantes apresentou baixa escolaridade, não trabalhava, não tinha plano de saúde e vivia acompanhado. A auto-avaliação da saúde ruim foi associada com a falta de apoio social entre as mulheres (RC 1,70 IC95 por cento 1,26-2,30) e com a ausência de redes sociais entre os homens (RC 1,56 IC95 por cento 1,10-2,20). Permaneceram associados ainda à auto-avaliação da saúde ruim as variáveis renda (ambos), trabalho atual (mulheres), alimentação (homens), capacidade funcional (ambos), número de doenças (ambos) e depressão (ambos). A hipótese de associaçãoentre rede e apoio social com a auto-avaliação da saúde foi confirmada com diferenciais entre os sexos. Estratégias e políticas públicas para melhorar a saúde do idoso devem considerar dimensões sociais favorecendo o envelhecimento saudável.