Evaluation of a new equation for LDL-c estimation and prediction of death by cardiovascular related events in a German population-based study cohort.

A simple equation established by Cordova & Cordova (LDL-COR) was developed to provide an improved estimation of LDL-cholesterol in a large Brazilian laboratory database. We evaluated this new equation in a general population cohort in Pomerania, north-eastern Germany (SHIP Study) compared to other existing formulas (Anandaraja, Teerakanchana, Chen, Hattori, Martin, Friedewald and Ahmadi), and its power in the prediction of death by atherosclerosis related events as the primary outcome. Analysis was conducted on a cohort of 4075 individuals considering age, gender, use of lipid lowering therapy and associated co-morbidities such as diabetes, hepatic, kidney and thyroid disease. LDL-COR values had a lower standard deviation compared to the previously published equations: 0.92 versus 1.02, 1.02, 1.03, 1.04, 1.09, 1.10 and 1.74 mmol/L, respectively. All of the factors known to affect the results obtained by the Friedewald's equation (LDL-FW), except fibrate use, were associated with the difference between LDL-COR and LDL-FW (p < .01), with TSH being borderline (p = .06). LDL-COR determined a higher hazard ratio (1.23 versus 1.12, 1.19, 1.21, 1.19, 1.21 and 1.19) for cardiovascular disease related mortality, incident stroke or myocardial infarction compared to the other evaluated formulas, except for Ahmadi's (1.24), and the same adjusted predictive power considering all confounding factors. The proposed simple equation was demonstrated to be suitable for a more precise LDL-c estimation in the studied population. Since LDL-c is a parameter frequently requested by medical laboratories in clinical routine, and will probably remain so, precise methods for its estimation are needed when direct measurement is not available.

Intestinal parasitoses and associated factors in a Brazilian city of German's descendants: a population-based study.

Intestinal parasitoses are a recurrent public health problem in developing countries. Their occurrence is usually associated with poor socioeconomic status and environmental risk factors. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of intestinal parasites and associated risk factors in Pomerode, SC. This was a cross-sectional sample with participants from population-based cohort study SHIP-Brazil (n=2,488). Sociodemographic, lifestyle, and environmental variables were selected from the study database. The stool samples were analyzed by Hoffman, Pons, and Janer, and by Faust methods. We estimated the relative frequency of parasites and its association to the study variable was estimated by prevalence ratio (PR) in a Poisson regression model. Among those who provided stool sample (n=797), the prevalence was 10.8% (95% CI 8.6 to 13.4). Endolimax nana, 4.8% (95% CI, 3.5-6.7) was the most frequent parasite, followed by Entamoeba histolytica/dispar, 1.7% (95% CI, 0.8-3.3), Urbanorum spp., 1.6% (95% CI, 1.0-2.7). Men (PR=1.9 95% CI 1.2-2.9), olders (PR=1.7 95% CI 1.0-2.8), non-white (PR=1.9 95% CI 1.2-3.0), living in high-risk dwelling areas (PR=1.8 95% CI 1.4-2.4) were associated with elevated proportions of parasitosis in the adjusted model. The current study found a low frequency of intestinal parasitoses in Pomerode, SC, Brazil. This frequency was higher among males, older, who live alone, non-white, in low SES, and living in high-risk dwelling areas.

Contribution to the Viability of the DMF-T Simplification in Adults and Older Adults

Objective: To verify the validity of two simplified DMFT indexes compared to the full DMFT. Material and Methods: This is an exploratory observational validation study with sample defined by convenience of 88 adult and older adult volunteers treated in a university dental clinic. After calibration, two examiners performed inspection tests with application of the DMFT index. The average total DMFT was compared with crossed quadrants (DMF2Q) and DMF of the right and left sides by age and sex using the Wilcoxon test. Results: The mean age of participants was 42.2 years and median of 44 years, and of these, 53 (60.2%) were female. The analysis showed no statistically significant difference between the means of DMFT and DMF2Q indexes between sexes (males 16.1 vs 16.1; p = 0.87 and females 16.4 vs 16.6; p = 0.24) or between the right and left sides (males 8.1 vs. 8.1 p = 0.50 and females 8.3 vs 8.1; p = 0.99). In addition, no differences were observed between DMFT and DMF2Q in the age groups of adults (30-44 years 17.8 vs 17.4; p = 0.564) and older adults (60 and over 23.4 vs 24.0; p = 0.298). The comparison between DMF OF right and left sides also showed no difference between adults (8.8 vs 9.1; p = 0.134) and older adults (11.8 vs 11.7; p = 0.951). Conclusion: Data obtained were consistent with similar studies on the distribution of dental caries in quadrants, allowing simplifying the DMFT index for epidemiological estimates.