Factors associated with Alzheimer's disease prevalence and mortality in Brazil-An ecological study.

A few epidemiological studies are evaluating the prevalence and mortality rates of Alzheimer's disease, with no one using a nationwide sample of Brazilian elderlies. This study aims to calculate the prevalence of Alzheimer's disease and investigate possible associations with sociodemographic and lifestyle factors and the presence of diseases non-communicable, and the prevalence and mortality for all Brazilian state capitals. This is an ecological design study made with secondary public data provided by the Ministry of Health. Prevalence rates were calculated based on the analysis of the dispensing of Alzheimer's disease-specific drugs. Correlation analyzes were performed between rates and factors, and a multiple linear regression analysis was used to analyze possible associations between variables, controlled for each other. AD prevalence was 313/100,000. Prevalence rates were positively associated with primary health care coverage factors and negatively associated with ultra-processed food consumption and physical activity levels. AD mortality was 98/100,000. Mortality rates were positively associated with the proportion of obese elderly and elderly living on up to half the minimum wage and were inversely associated with the proportion of elderly with diabetes factors. We found positive and negative associations of sociodemographic, behavioral and diabetes indicators with Alzheimer's disease prevalence and mortality, which provide data that can be investigated by studies with different designs.

Comparison of the phlebotomine (Diptera: Psychodidae) fauna of urban, transitional, and wild areas in northern Minas Gerais, Brazil.

BACKGROUND: Phlebotomines are directly related to the study of leishmaniases, and so the study of their distribution plays an important role in the epidemiology of these diseases. Collections of phlebotomines were made with the intent of comparing the distribution, richness, diversity, and abundance of species in three distinct environments in an area endemic for tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis in Minas Gerais State, Brazil. METHODS: Phlebotomines were collected with automatic light traps in urban, transitional, and wild areas from March 2013 to February 2014 in the district of Barra do Guaicuí, municipality of Várzea da Palma, Minas Gerais. The distribution patterns of these species of insects, as well as species richness, evenness, and abundance among the different areas, were analyzed. RESULTS: A total of 3,365 phlebotomines belonging to 15 species were collected. The urban area had the greatest abundance whereas the transitional area had the greatest diversity and evenness of species. Nyssomyia intermedia was the most abundant species in the urban area, whereas Evandromyia evandroi was the most abundant in the transitional area and Ev. lenti in the wild area. CONCLUSION: The analysis of our results showed that the distribution of the collected species had distinct profiles between the environments studied. Furthermore our study indicates the potential risk of transmission of leishmaniasis in the urban environment where it was observed had the highest population density and abundance of important vector species of Leishmania.