Intergenerational consequences of violence: violence during pregnancy as a risk factor for infection in infancy.

Introduction: Psychosocial stress during pregnancy has long-lasting and important consequences in the following generations, as it can affect intrauterine development. The impact on the developing immune system is notoriously important due to the associated morbidity and mortality in the first years of life. Little attention has been given to the role of violence during pregnancy (VDP), especially its impact on infant infectious morbidity. Methods: We analyzed data from two Brazilian birth cohorts (n = 2,847) in two distinct cities (Ribeirão Preto and São Luís), collected during pregnancy and at the beginning of the second year of life. The association between VDP and infection in infancy was analyzed with structural equation modeling, using the WHO-VAW questionnaire as exposure and a latent variable for infection as the outcome. Results: VDP was reported by 2.48% (sexual), 11.56% (physical), and 45.90% (psychological) of the mothers. The models presented an adequate fit. In the city of São Luís, VDP was significantly associated with the latent construct for infection (standardized beta = 0.182; p = 0.022), while that was not the case for the Ribeirão Preto sample (standardized beta = 0.113; p = 0.113). Further analyses showed a gradient effect for the different dimensions of the exposure, from psychological to physical and sexual violence. Conclusion: Our results suggest an association of VDP with infant morbidity in a poorer socioeconomic setting, and highlight the importance of considering the different dimensions of intimate partner violence. These findings may have important implications for the comprehension of global health inequalities and of the effects of gender-based violence.

Perfil etiológico, sociodemográfico e desfechos dos pacientes com asma internados por síndrome respiratória aguda grave (SRAG) no Brasil de 2020 a 2022: uma análise de 83.452 internações / Etiology, sociodemographic profile, and outcomes of patients with asthma hospitalized for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in Brazil from 2020 to 2022: an analysis of 83,452 hospitalizations Braian

Introdução: A asma é uma das doenças crônicas mais frequentes na população brasileira. O objetivo deste estudo foi determinar as etiologias, o perfil sociodemográfico e os fatores de risco para óbito entre pacientes com asma internados por síndrome respiratória aguda grave (SRAG) no Brasil entre 2020 e 2022. Métodos: A partir do banco de dados SIVEP-Gripe, incluímos todos os pacientes com idade maior que 5 anos registrados no banco de 01/01/2020 até 21/07/2022, hospitalizados por SRAG, com antecedente de asma e com desfechos conhecidos. Como exposições, foram estudadas a idade, sexo, região de moradia, etnia e agentes etiológicos virais isolados. Os desfechos foram internação em unidade de terapia intensiva, necessidade de ventilação mecânica e óbito. Para calcular a razão de chances entre exposição e desfechos, utilizamos modelos lineares generalizados mistos multinível. Resultados: Foram incluídas na análise 83.452 internações, sendo 14.062 crianças e adolescentes, e 69.390 adultos. A mortalidade aumentou com a idade, indo de 0,6% entre 5-10 anos para 33% nos maiores que 60 anos. Na população pediátrica, morar na região Norte e Nordeste e ter entre 10-20 anos foram associados a maior mortalidade (OR 2,14 IC95% 1,41- 3,24 e OR 3,73 IC95% 2,65-5,26 respectivamente). Quanto aos agentes etiológicos, apenas o SARS-CoV-2 conferiu maior risco de óbito (OR 5,18 IC95% 3,62-7,42). Entre adultos, sexo feminino e etnias não brancas foram protetoras (OR 0,87 IC95% 0,83-0,9 e OR 0,90; IC95% 0,85-0,94 respectivamente) para óbito. Faixas etárias mais avançadas, morar nas regiões Norte e Nordeste e o diagnóstico de COVID-19 foram associados a maior mortalidade. Conclusões: Há importantes vulnerabilidades sociodemográficas nos desfechos das internações de pacientes com asma por SRAG, com maior mortalidade nas regiões Norte-Nordeste, entre adolescentes na faixa etária pediátrica e entre idosos nos adultos. Além disso, destaca-se o protagonismo da COVID-19 entre as infecções associadas a maior mortalidade.

Introduction: Asthma is one of the most common chronic diseases affecting the Brazilian population. We aimed to determine the etiology, sociodemographic profile, and risk factors for death in patients with asthma hospitalized for severe acute respiratory illness (SARI) in Brazil from 2020 to 2022. Methods: We included all patients over 5 years of age registered in the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System (SIVEP Gripe) database of the Brazilian Ministry of Health from January 1, 2020 to July 21, 2022 hospitalized for SARI. Patients had to have a history of asthma and known outcomes. As exposures, age, sex, region of residence, ethnicity, and viral etiological agent were evaluated. The outcomes measured were admission to an intensive care unit, need for mechanical ventilation, and death. We used multilevel generalized linear mixed models to calculate the odds ratio between exposure and outcomes. Results: A total of 83,452 hospitalizations were included, of which 14,062 were children and adolescents and 69,390 were adults. Mortality increased with age, ranging from 0.6% in those aged 5-10 years to 33% in those over 60 years. In the pediatric population, living in the north and northeast regions (OR 2.14, 95%CI 1.41-3.24) and having between 10-20 years (OR 3.73, 95%CI 2.65-5.26) were associated with higher mortality. As for etiologic agents, only SARS-CoV-2 was associated with a higher risk of death (OR 5.18, 95%CI 3.62-7.42). Among adults, female sex (OR 0.87, 95%CI 0.83-0.9) and non-White ethnicities (OR 0.90, 95%CI 0.85-0.94) were protective factors against death. Older age groups, living in the north and northeast regions, and a diagnosis of COVID-19 were associated with higher mortality. Conclusions: There are important sociodemographic vulnerabilities in the outcomes of patients with asthma hospitalized for SARI, with higher mortality rates in the north and northeast regions, among adolescents in the pediatric age group, and among older adults. Furthermore, COVID-19 was one of the main infections associated with higher mortality.

Non-communicable diseases, sociodemographic vulnerability and the risk of mortality in hospitalised children and adolescents with COVID-19 in Brazil: a cross-sectional observational study.

OBJECTIVES: To analyse how previous comorbidities, ethnicity, regionality and socioeconomic development are associated with COVID-19 mortality in hospitalised children and adolescents. DESIGN: Cross-sectional observational study using publicly available data from the Brazilian Ministry of Health. SETTING: Nationwide. PARTICIPANTS: 5857 patients younger than 20 years old, all of them hospitalised with laboratory-confirmed COVID-19, from 1 January 2020 to 7 December 2020. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURE: We used multilevel mixed-effects generalised linear models to study in-hospital mortality, stratifying the analysis by age, region of the country, presence of non-communicable diseases, ethnicity and socioeconomic development. RESULTS: Individually, most of the included comorbidities were risk factors for mortality. Notably, asthma was a protective factor (OR 0.4, 95% CI 0.24 to 0.67). Having more than one comorbidity increased almost tenfold the odds of death (OR 9.67, 95% CI 6.89 to 13.57). Compared with white children, Indigenous, Pardo (mixed) and East Asian had significantly higher odds of mortality (OR 5.83, 95% CI 2.43 to 14.02; OR 1.93, 95% CI 1.48 to 2.51; OR 2.98, 95% CI 1.02 to 8.71, respectively). We also found a regional influence (higher mortality in the North-OR 3.4, 95% CI 2.48 to 4.65) and a socioeconomic association (lower mortality among children from more socioeconomically developed municipalities-OR 0.26, 95% CI 0.17 to 0.38) CONCLUSIONS: Besides the association with comorbidities, we found ethnic, regional and socioeconomic factors shaping the mortality of children hospitalised with COVID-19 in Brazil. Our findings identify risk groups among children that should be prioritised for public health measures, such as vaccination.