Exploring knowledge of parents and caregivers on cancer symptoms in children: an observational study regarding the need for educational tools and health promotion in low- and middle-income countries.

BACKGROUND: Although most cases of childhood cancer are unlikely to be prevented, by today's standards, most children with cancer can now be cured. However, disparities about survival exist among countries; in Mexico, the overall survival is 49.6%, with 70% of childhood cancers diagnosed at advanced stages. Therefore, parents and caregivers must have optimal knowledge of the early signs and symptoms of childhood malignancies as they are largely non-specific. This study was designed to explore the current knowledge of childhood cancer among parents and caregivers in Mexico and identify the need for education and health promotion in low- and middle-income countries. METHODS: An online survey of 112 parents and caregivers was performed to assess their knowledge of childhood cancer, focusing on the signs and symptoms and early diagnostic strategies. RESULTS: Sixty-nine (61.6%) mothers, 23 (20.5%) fathers, 17 (15.2%) familiar caregivers, and 3 (2.7%) non-familiar caregivers responded. Forty-six (41.1%) respondents said that they knew a child diagnosed with cancer, 92.9% mentioned leukemia as the most common type of cancer among children, the most highly ranked option when asked which sign/symptom they considered as a warning for suspicion was growth/lump in any part of the body, 97.3% considered that an early diagnosis is related to a higher cure rate, and 92.9% expressed the desire to receive reliable information about childhood cancer. CONCLUSIONS: Although parents and caregivers have some knowledge of childhood cancer, there are concepts that should be reinforced to improve their understanding of this group of diseases, as they are the frontline for children to seek medical attention. In the future, the use of tools that help educate more caregivers will strengthen knowledge and contribution regarding this issue and promote the generation of public policies that support the early diagnosis of childhood cancer.

Estudo comparativo das capacidades aeróbica e anaeróbica de adolescentes com obesidade severa da cidade de Säo Paulo / Comparative study of the aerobic and anaerobic capacities of adolescents with severe obesity in the Säo Paulo city

A obesidade, antes um problema de saúde nos países desenvolvidos, tem-se tornado, ultimamente, um problema de saúde pública também nos países em desenvolvimento, sendo mais preocupante em crianças e adolescentes,uma vez que, estabelecida nesta faixa etária, determina uma potencial piora das condiçöes de saúde associada à obesidade na vida adulta. O estudo comparou a capacidade aeróbica e anaeróbica de meninos e meninas, com obesidade severa da cidade de Säo Paulo-Brasil.Sessenta meninos e sessenta meninas com obesidade severa (índice de massa corpórea - IMC 30.0) com idade entre 14 e 19 anos realizaram densidometria óssea (DEXA), avaliaçåo da capacidade anaeróbia em bicicleta.Os meninos apresentam valores aumentados para consumo máximo de oxigênio (VO2 MÄX), limiar anaeróbio ventilatório (VO2 LV-I), frequência cardíaca do limiar aeróbio ventilatório (FC LV-I), potência máxima (PT máx) e potência média (PT med), embora apresentassem mesma gordura corporal total (MG total) e uma massa magra total (MM total) maior se comparados com as meninas: O dados apresentam valores semelhantes aos apresentados em outros trabalhos de normalidade para capacidade aeróbia e anaeróbia em adolescentes obesos e näo obesos, confirmando a existência de diferenças entre os sexos na performance física.Quando analisamos as diferenças de composiçåo corporal, embora haja uma igualdade se comparando o IMC e a quantidade de gordura corporal total de ambos os grupos, podemos constatar uma diferença significativa quanto a quantidade de massa muscular total, o que poderia explicar tal diferença na performance física entre os sexos