Knowledge of HIV transmission, prevention strategies and U = U among adult sexual and gender minorities in Brazil.

INTRODUCTION: Although strong scientific evidence of the efficacy and effectiveness of treatment-as-prevention (TasP) is available, full endorsement of the "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U = U) and "zero-risk" messages could be improved. Increasing knowledge about HIV transmission, prevention and treatment is a critical component of care efforts. The study assessed knowledge of HIV transmission and prevention strategies, and the perceived accuracy of the slogan U = U among sexual and gender minorities (SGM) in Brazil. METHODS: Cross-sectional web-based survey targeting adult SGM living in Brazil (2021-2022) recruited on social media and dating apps. We used the 12-item HIV Knowledge Assessment (HIV-KA) questionnaire to assess HIV knowledge, three items of which address pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP), post-exposure prophylaxis and TasP. Perceived accuracy of the U = U slogan was assessed with the question: "With regards to HIV-positive individuals transmitting HIV through sexual contact, how accurate do you believe the slogan U = U is?". We a priori grouped the study population into three mutually exclusive groups: people living with HIV (PLHIV), HIV negative and HIV unknown. We used logistic regression models to assess factors associated with high HIV knowledge and perception of the U = U as completely accurate. RESULTS: Of 50,222 individuals accessing the questionnaire, 23,981 were included: 5071 (21.0%) PLHIV, 17,257 (71.5%) HIV negative and 1653 (6.9%) HIV unknown. The proportion of participants with high knowledge was significantly higher for PLHIV and HIV negative (48.1% and 45.5%, respectively) compared to 26.1% of HIV unknown. More PLHIV perceived U = U as completely accurate (80.4%), compared to 60.0% of HIV negative and 42.9% of HIV unknown. HIV knowledge correlates with perceived accuracy of the U = U slogan across all groups. Higher HIV knowledge was associated with higher income and education regardless of HIV status. Among HIV-negative participants, PrEP awareness and use were associated with higher knowledge and accurate perception of the U = U slogan. CONCLUSIONS: Our findings show that HIV knowledge and perceived accuracy of U = U are strongly correlated, that knowledge differs according to HIV status, and that poor socio-economic is linked to poor knowledge among SGM from Brazil. Educational strategies regarding TasP, U = U and zero risk targeting socio-economically vulnerable populations are urgent in Brazil.

HIV knowledge and its correlation with the Undetectable = Untransmittable slogan in Brazil.

Knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention is a necessary step for adopting preventive behaviors. We assessed HIV knowledge and its correlation with the perceived accuracy of the "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U=U) slogan in an online sample with 401 adult Brazilians. Overall, 28% of participants showed high HIV knowledge level. The perceived accuracy of the U=U slogan significantly correlated with HIV knowledge. Younger participants, those reporting lower income or lower education, or who had never tested for HIV showed poorer HIV knowledge. Filling gaps of knowledge among specific populations is urgent in order to increase preventive behaviors and decrease HIV stigma.

HIV knowledge and its correlation with the Undetectable = Untransmittable slogan in Brazil

ABSTRACT Knowledge about HIV transmission and prevention is a necessary step for adopting preventive behaviors. We assessed HIV knowledge and its correlation with the perceived accuracy of the "Undetectable = Untransmittable" (U=U) slogan in an online sample with 401 adult Brazilians. Overall, 28% of participants showed high HIV knowledge level. The perceived accuracy of the U=U slogan significantly correlated with HIV knowledge. Younger participants, those reporting lower income or lower education, or who had never tested for HIV showed poorer HIV knowledge. Filling gaps of knowledge among specific populations is urgent in order to increase preventive behaviors and decrease HIV stigma.

Evaluation of clinical and pathological response factors to neoadjuvant chemotherapy in breast cancer patients

Objectives: To evaluate breast cancer (BC) patients treated with neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NACT) and to analyze clinicopathological features correlating with pathological complete response (PCR) and survival outcomes. Methods: Observational, descriptive, and retrospective study. The medical records of BC patients who underwent NACT were reviewed and analyzed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), version 20.0. Results: Of the 176 BC patints who underwent NACT, 62 patients (35.2%) achieved PCR. The PCR rate was 22% (n = 2) for luminal A, 15% (n = 9) for luminal B/HER2-negative, 45.5% (n = 15) for luminal B/ HER2-positive, 50% (n = 14) for non-luminal/HER2-positive, and 47.8% (n = 22) for triple-negative (p = 0.01). Histological grade, estrogen receptor (ER) expression, progesterone receptor (PR) expression, and HER2 status were significantly associated with PCR (p = 0.022, p = 0.01, p = 0.01, and p = 0.02, respectively). The median follow-up was 35.9 months, the estimated 5-year disease-free survival (DFS) was 96.7% in the PCR group and 83.2% in the non-PCR group (p = 0.05). The estimated 5-year overall survival (OS) was 95.5% in the PCR group and 69.1% in the non-PCR group (p = 0.017). Overall, 11 patients (6.25%) presented with locoregional recurrence (LRR), one (1.6%) in the PCR group and 10 (8.8%) in the non-PCR group (p = 0.10). Conclusion: We observed higher PCR rates in triple-negative and HER2-positive molecular subtypes. DFS and OS were significantly better in patients who achieved PCR, regardless of clinicopathological features. We also observed lower rates of LRR in the population that reached PCR.

O padrão etário na dinâmica temporal da dengue no Brasil

Dengue é uma doença viral provocada por quatro sorotipos de arbovírus e transmitida aos seres humanos por mosquitos do gênero Aedes. A dispersão geográfica dos vetores e dos vírus levou a uma reemergência global deste agravo, com destaque para as epidemias e o aparecimento de formas graves nosúltimos anos. Se, por um lado, as recentes publicações revelam baixo impacto nas estratégias de controle vetorial para dengue, por outro lado, houve grande expectativa com o lançamento de vacinas para a prevenção da doença. Em vários países onde a ocorrência de dengue é relevante, a distribuição dos casos por faixa etária não é homogênea, levantando dúvidas sobre quais os fatores interferem na dinâmica da incidência de dengue segundo a idade. Objetivo: Caracterizar o padrão de incidência de dengue e dengue grave ao longo do tempo segundo a faixa etária no período de 2007 a 2012 nas capitais estaduais brasileira.Métodos: Foi realizada a seleção das capitais com maior taxa de incidência entre as séries de dengue edengue grave por faixa etária em cada região do país para prosseguimento da pesquisa, totalizando a análise estatística de 4 capitais, referentes a suas respectivas regiões: Rio Branco (Região Norte), Aracaju(Região Nordeste), Cuiabá (Região Centro-Oeste) e Vitória (Região Sudeste). Seguiu-se a regressão das curvas de incidência de dengue e dengue grave, segundo faixa etária ao longo do tempo, utilizando Modelos Lineares Generalizados com distribuição de probabilidade de Poisson. Resultados e Discussão:Em função da análise exploratória das séries, foram construídos dois modelos de Poisson que incluíram como variáveis dependentes um termo autorregressivo, o grupo etário (<15 e ≥15 anos) e o tempo; no segundo modelo de Poisson, incluiu-se ainda um termo de interação entre o grupo etário e o tempo...

Dengue is a viral disease caused by 4 serotypes of arbovirus and transmitted to humans byAedes mosquitoes. The geographical dispersion of these vectors and viruses has led to a globalresurgence of this disease, with the occurrence of epidemics and the appearance of severe forms in thelast years. Prior studies have shown that vector control can have only limited impact on dengueincidence. We currently have 2 vaccines available to prevent dengue and there is great expectationwith the application of these vaccines on a large scale. In several countries where the incidence ofdengue is relevant, the distribution of cases by age group is not homogeneous, raising questions aboutwhich factors influence the dynamics of dengue incidence according to age. Objective: To characterizethe pattern of the incidence of dengue and severe dengue over time according to age group from 2007to 2012 in the Brazilian state capitals. Methods: Brazilian capitals with highest incidence rate ofdengue and severe dengue by age group in each region of the country were selected for furtherresearch, totaling the statistical analysis of 4 capitals, referring to their respective regions: Rio Branco(North Region), Aracaju (Northeast), Cuiabá (Midwest Region) and Vitória (Southeast). The incidencerate of dengue and severe dengue, according to age over time, were modeled using Generalized LinearModels with Poisson probability distribution. Results and Discussion: Descriptive statistics guided thecreation of two models that included an autoregressive term, age group and time as explanatoryvariables. The second model included also an interaction term of age group and time. In cases ofdengue in Rio Branco, Aracaju and Vitoria, the age group ≥15 years had a incidence rate that wassignificantly higher than that observed among those who were <15 years...