Consumption of ultra-processed foods and IL-6 in two cohorts from high- and middle-income countries.

This study evaluated the association between ultra-processed foods (UPF) on serum IL-6 and to investigate the mediation role of adiposity. Participants were 524 adults from the EPITeen Cohort (Porto, Portugal) and 2888 participants from the 1982 Pelotas Birth Cohort (Pelotas, Brazil). Dietary intake was collected using FFQ when participants were 21 years of age in the EPITeen and 23 years in the Pelotas Cohort. Serum IL-6 and body fat mass were evaluated when participants were 27 and 30 years old in the EPITeen and Pelotas, respectively. Generalised linear models were fitted to test main associations. Mediation of body fat mass was estimated using G-computation. After adjustment for socio-economic and behaviour variables, among females from the EPITeen, the concentration of IL-6 (pg/ml) increased with increasing intake of UPF from 1·31 (95 % CI 0·95, 1·82) in the first UPF quartile to 2·20 (95 % CI 1·60, 3·01) and 2·64 (95 % CI 1·89, 3·69) for the third and fourth UPF quartiles, respectively. A similar result was found among males in the Pelotas Cohort, IL-6 increased from 1·40 (95 % CI 1·32, 1·49) in the first UPF quartile to 1·50 (95 % CI 1·41, 1·59) and 1·59 (95 % CI 1·49, 1·70) in the two highest UPF quartiles. The P-value for the linear trend was < 0·01 in both findings. The indirect effect through fat mass was NS. Our findings suggest that the consumption of UPF was associated with an increase in IL-6 concentration; however, this association was not explained by adiposity.

In-hospital case fatality rate due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals and its possible temporal relationship with the Gamma variant, 2020-2021 / Letalidad hospitalaria por COVID-19 en cuatro capitales brasileñas y su posible relación temporal con la variante Gamma, 2020-2021 / Letalidade hospitalar por COVID-19 em quatro capitais brasileiras e sua possível relação temporal com a variante Gama, 2020-2021

Objective: To describe in-hospital and intensive care unit (ICU) case fatality rates due to COVID-19 in four Brazilian state capitals, during the months of epidemic peaks and previous months. Methods: This was an ecological study using monthly data from the Influenza Epidemiological Surveillance Information System, between 2020-2021, in individuals aged 20 years or older. Case fatality rate and mortality were estimated with 95% confidence intervals. Results: In Manaus, the capital city of the state of Amazonas, ICU case fatality rate among those >59 years old was lower in December/2020 (80.9% ­95%CI 78.4;83.3) and during the peak in January/2021 (79.9% ­95%CI 77.4;82.5), compared to the peak in April/2020 (88.2% ­95%CI 86.1;90.3). In São Paulo, the capital city of the state of São Paulo, Curitiba, the capital city of the state of Paraná, and Porto Alegre, the capital city of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, there was a decrease or stability in ICU and in-hospital case fatality rate in January/2021, compared to the reference month in 2020. Conclusion: In January/2021, in-hospital and ICU case fatality rates decreased or remained stable in the four state capitals, especially in Manaus, and during the epidemic peak with the prevalence of the Gamma variant.

Objetivo: Descrever letalidade por COVID-19 ­ hospitalar e em unidade de terapia intensiva (UTI) ­ em quatro capitais brasileiras, em meses de picos epidêmicos e nos meses anteriores. Métodos: Estudo ecológico com dados mensais de 2020-2021 do Sistema de Informação da Vigilância Epidemiológica da Gripe, em indivíduos com 20 anos ou mais. Estimou-se letalidade e mortalidade, com intervalos de confiança de 95%. Resultados: Em Manaus, a letalidade em UTI nos >59 anos foi menor em dezembro/2020 (80,9% ­ IC95% 78,4;83,3) e no pico de janeiro/2021 (79,9% ­ IC95% 77,4;82,5), em comparação ao pico de abril/2020 (88,2% ­ IC95% 86,1;90,3). Em São Paulo, Curitiba e Porto Alegre, observou-se queda ou estabilidade na letalidade hospitalar e em UTI, em janeiro/2021, em comparação ao mês de referência de 2020. Conclusão: Em janeiro/2021, a letalidade hospitalar e em UTI caiu ou manteve-se estável nas quatro capitais, especialmente em Manaus e durante o pico epidêmico com predomínio da variante Gama.

Influenza vaccination in the elderly during the COVID-19 pandemic: A population-based study in 133 Brazilian cities / Vacinação para influenza em idosos na pandemia COVID-19: estudo de base populacional em 133 cidades brasileiras

Influenza vaccination coverage in the elderly was analysed during the COVID-19 pandemic through the EPICOVID-19, a population-based study conducted in 133 cities from the 26 Brazilian states and Federal District. Twenty five census tracts were sampled with probability proportional to the size of the tract, 10 households by census tracts and one random person interviewed. A total of 33,250 people were interviewed being 8,262  ≥60 years old. The elderly were asked whether they had had a flu vaccine in 2020. Vaccination coverage was 82.3% (CI95%=8 0.1-84.2) with no difference by sex, age, and region. Higher vaccination coverage was observed in the richest compared to the poorest (84.7% and 80.1%; p=<0.001), and among those with higher schooling (87.3% and 83.2; p=0.007). The indigenous presented lower coverage (56.9%) than other ethnic groups (>80%) (p=0.056). A positive association existed between vaccination coverage and number of comorbidities for men, but not for women. Most of those who were vaccinated (97.5%) received the vaccine in the public health system. The private was chosen mostly in the south, by the rich and by those with more schooling. Vaccination coverage was seven percentage points lower than the government target, and inequalities should be reverted in future campaigns.

Avaliou-se a cobertura vacinal para influenza em idosos na pandemia COVID-19 através do EPICOVID-19, inquérito de base populacional realizado em 133 cidades sentinela dos 26 estados brasileiros e Distrito Federal. Selecionou-se 25 setores censitários por cidade com amostragem proporcional ao tamanho, 10 domicílios por setor e uma pessoa por domicílio, aleatoriamente. Foram entrevistadas 33.250 pessoas, sendo 8.265 idosos. Perguntou-se aos idosos se haviam sido vacinados contra gripe em 2020. A cobertura foi de 82,3% (IC 95% 80,1­84,2), sem diferenças por sexo, idade ou região. Foram observadas maiores coberturas no quintil mais rico (84,7% contra  80,1% no mais pobre; p<0.001) e naqueles com graduação completa (87,3% contra 83,2% com fundamental incompleto; p=0.007), e menor cobertura nos indígenas (56,9% comparado a coberturas superiores a 80% nos demais grupos étnicos) (p=0,056). Houve associação positiva da cobertura com número de comorbidades entre homens, mas não entre mulheres. A maioria vacinou-se na rede pública (97,5%), sendo a rede privada mais utilizada na região sul, pelos mais escolarizados e mais ricos. Conclui-se que a cobertura vacinal ficou sete pontos percentuais abaixo da meta governamental, e que desigualdades devem ser revertidas em futuras campanhas.

Maternal smoking during pregnancy and offspring body composition in adulthood: Results from two birth cohort studies.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the association of maternal smoking during pregnancy with offspring body composition in adulthood and explore the causality of this association. DESIGN: Birth cohort. SETTING: Population-based study in Pelotas, Brazil. PARTICIPANTS: All newborn infants in the city's hospitals were enrolled in 1982 and 1993. At a mean age of 30.2 and 22.6 years, the 1982 and 1993 cohorts, respectively, followed the subjects and 7222 subjects were evaluated. PRIMARY OUTCOME MEASURES: Body mass index (BMI), fat mass index, android to gynoid fat ratio, waist circumference, waist to height ratio, lean mass index and height. RESULTS: Prevalence of maternal smoking during pregnancy was 35.1% and 32.6%, in 1982 and 1993 cohorts, respectively. Offspring of smoking mothers showed higher mean BMI (ß: 0.84; 95% CI: 0.55 to 1.12 kg/m2), fat mass index (ß: 0.44; 95% CI: 0.23 to 0.64 kg/m2), android to gynoid fat ratio (ß: 0.016; 95% CI: 0.010 to 0.023), waist circumference (ß: 1.74; 95% CI: 1.15 to 2.33 cm), waist to height ratio (ß: 0.013; 95% CI: 0.010 to 0.017) and lean mass index (ß: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.24 to 0.42 kg/m2), whereas height was lower (ß: -0.95; -1.26 to -0.65). Weight gain in the first 2 years captured most of the association of maternal smoking with BMI (96.2%), waist circumference (86.1%) and fat mass index (71.7%). CONCLUSIONS: Maternal smoking in pregnancy was associated with offspring body composition measures in adulthood.

Non-Alcoholic Fatty Liver Disease in Children and Adolescents: Lifestyle Change - a Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis.

INTRODUCTION AND AIM: This manuscript seeks to analyze the impact of lifestyle changes on body mass index (BMI), aminotransferases and steatosis in children and adolescents with nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD). MATERIALS AND METHODS: A review of PubMed, BIREME, Scopus, EMBASE, Medline and Web of Science databases 2015 was performed seeking studies addressing the impact of lifestyle interventions on children and/or adolescents with NAFLD. Inclusion were manuscripts written in Portuguese, English and Spanish, as well as age less than 18 years. Two reviewers performed the data extraction independently and differences were resolved by consensus. Outcome measures were BMI, serum aminotransferase levels and the presence of hepatic steatosis. RESULTS: The literature search identified 71,012 articles. After excluding 46,397 duplicates and other clearly irrelevant studies, 89 publications were reviewed in detail. Another 55 studies were excluded at this stage. Subsequently, 18 were excluded due to lack of data and three new articles were found in the review of the references of previously identified manuscripts. Therefore, 19 studies that had evaluated 923 subjects (477 boys and 446 girls) aged 6-18 years were included in the review. In most studies, the intervention included aerobic exercise and diet. In nine studies, BMI improved significantly following the intervention. The vast majority of studies reported a benefit from the intervention on aminotransferase levels. Lifestyle changes also had a significant impact on steatosis, reducing the risk by 61%. CONCLUSIONS: Lifestyle changes lead to significant improvements in BMI, aminotransferase levels and hepatic steatosis in children and adolescents with NAFLD.

Chronicity and severity of maternal postpartum depression and infant sleep disorders: a population-based cohort study in southern Brazil.

A cohort study was conducted with 397 women randomly selected from the Brazilian National System of Public Health, to describe the prevalence rates of infant sleep problems at 12-month of life, and its association with chronicity and severity of maternal depressive symptoms. Mothers were assessed, first, from the 9th to the 12th week postpartum and then at 12 months after delivery, with EPDS and a self-rating questionnaire regarding babies' sleep behavior. After controlling for possible confounders, babies whose mothers had severe chronic depressive symptoms were at higher risk for sleep disorder at 12 months of birth.

Validity of the Beck Depression Inventory in the postpartum period.

Objective. While there is a recommendation to screen for postpartum depression (PPD), there are worries about the validity of instruments other than the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale; little is known about the construct validity of one of the most used screening instruments, the Beck Depression Inventory, in this period. Methods. This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the BDI in a population-based sample of women and their spouses (n=772) in the postpartum. Additionally, we compared factor scores within the couple. Results. Exploratory factor analysis demonstrated a two-factor solution (depressive symptoms and somatic symptoms), accounting for 44.01% of the total variance. Internal consistency was good (Cronbach's α=0.90). Women had higher scores than their partners in both factors (P<0.001), but not a higher proportion of the total score attributable to somatic symptoms. Conclusion. With little factor variance between women and men, and a similar proportion of somatic symptoms, these results should be taken to reinforce the validity of the BDI in the postpartum.