Risk factors for dysgeusia during chemotherapy for solid tumors: a retrospective cross-sectional study.

PURPOSE: This study retrospectively analyzed the risk factors for transchemotherapy dysgeusia. METHODS: Before each chemotherapy cycle, patients were routinely evaluated for the presence/severity of dysgeusia based on the Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE) v5.0 scale for adverse effects and graded as follows: 0, no change in taste; 1, altered taste with no impact on eating habits; or 2, altered taste with an impact on eating habits. Information from 2 years of evaluations was collected and patient medical records were reviewed to obtain data on chemotherapy cycle, sex, age, body mass index, body surface area, primary tumor, chemotherapy protocol, and history of head and neck radiotherapy. The X2 test and multinomial logistic regression were used for statistical analysis (SPSS 20.0, p < 0.05). RESULTS: Among 7425 total patients, 3047, 2447, and 1931 were evaluated after the first, second, and third chemotherapy cycles, respectively. One-fifth of the patients (19.0%) presented a significant loss of taste, with 1118 (15.0%) showing grade 1 dysgeusia and 442 (6.0%) showing grade 2 dysgeusia. The chemotherapy duration (p < 0.001), female sex (p < 0.001), location of the primary tumor in the uterus (p = 0.008), head and neck (p = 0.012), and testicles (p = 0.011), and use of ifosfamide (p = 0.009), docetaxel (p = 0.001), paclitaxel (p < 0.001), pertuzumab (p = 0.005), bevacizumab (p < 0.001), and dacarbazine (p = 0.002) independently increased the risk of dysgeusia. In head and neck tumors, a previous history of radiotherapy significantly increased the prevalence of dysgeusia (p = 0.017), and the use of cisplatin (p = 0.001) increased this prevalence. CONCLUSION: Cycles of chemotherapy, sex, uterine cancer, head and neck tumors, testicular cancer, ifosfamide, docetaxel, paclitaxel, pertuzumab, bevacizumab, and dacarbazine increase the risk of dysgeusia.

Telecoaching programme for type 2 diabetes control: a randomised clinical trial.

BACKGROUND:: People with diabetes have a high risk of developing micro and macrovascular complications that increase treatment costs and shorten life expectancy. Telecoaching programmes can improve short-term control of diabetes and reduce disease burden. AIMS:: To analyse the effect of a health telecoaching programme in the control of type 2 diabetes. METHODS:: A pragmatic clinical trial was carried out. Thirty-one patients with type 2 diabetes were divided into control and intervention groups. The control group received usual nursing care, and those in the intervention group received usual care and telecoaching for 24 weeks. FINDINGS:: The intervention group improved: measurements of abdominal circumference, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and body mass index; variables related to glycaemic control (fasting venous glucose and glycated haemoglobin/HbA1c); and high-density lipoprotein levels. CONCLUSION:: The data indicate that telecoaching is an effective tool for diabetes management. It is recommended that the study should be developed to include more people and run over the long term.

[Correlation between anthropometric indicators and sleep quality among Brazilian university students]. / Correlação entre indicadores antropométricos e a qualidade do sono de universitários brasileiros.

The current study investigated the correlation between anthropometric indicators and sleep quality among Brazilian university students using the Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index. A cross-sectional assessment with 702 university students was conducted between March 2010 and June 2011. Results showed that cases of obesity were more frequent among students who were good sleepers. On the other hand, overweight and high cervical and abdominal circumference was most prominent among poor sleepers. Thus, apart from the damage caused by sleep disorders alone, additional risks due to the association between poor sleep quality and being overweight, central obesity, and increased cervical perimeter are highlighted.

[Risk factors for type 2 diabetes mellitus among adolescents]. / Fatores de risco para diabetes mellitus tipo 2 entre adolescentes.

The objective of this study was to identify risk factors for type 2 diabetes (DM2) in a population of private schools adolescents of Fortaleza-Brazil. A total 794 students aged 12 to 17 years, from 12 schools, were evaluated in the months of May, June, August and September 2007. A form was applied approaching sociodemographics aspects, BMI, blood pressure, capillary glycemia and sedentary lifestyle. Approximately 24% of the participants had high BMI, 65% were sedentary and 51% had family history of DM2. In those with larger income, 73.5% had family history of DM2 (p = 0.04). About 39% of the adolescents had at least two risk factors for DM2. Most of the risk factors for DM2 identified in this study are changeable, therefore, susceptible to preventive interventions in the school setting.