[Relationship between climate change and determinant factors of mortality among the elderly in the municipality of São Carlos (São Paulo, Brazil) over a period of ten years]. / Relação entre alterações climáticas e fatores determinantes da mortalidade de idosos no município de São Carlos (SP) em um período de dez anos.

The aim of this study was to identify the correlation between the number of deaths of elderly people and climate change in the district of São Carlos (SP) over a period of 10 years (1997-2006). Records of deaths were obtained from DATASUS for people aged over 60 who died between 1997 and 2006 in São Carlos. The average monthly maximum and minimum temperature data and relative air humidity in São Carlos were provided by the National Institute of Meteorology. The mortality coefficient of the district was calculated by gender and age and the resulting data were analyzed using t test, one-way ANOVA, the Bonferroni test and the Pearson correlation coefficient test. There were 8,304 deaths which predominantly occurred among males aged over 80, and diseases of the circulatory system were the main cause of death. There was a positive correlation between mortality by infectious disease and minimum humidity, and a negative correlation between mortality by infectious diseases and minimum temperatures, between mortality caused by respiratory disease and minimum humidity, between mortality caused by endocrine disease and minimum and maximum temperature. Thereby, it was possible to conclude that there was a correlation between climate change and mortality among elderly individuals in São Carlos.

[Regional differences and costs of physical therapy procedures in Brazil's Unified Health System, 1995 to 2008]. / Diferenças regionais e custos dos procedimentos de fisioterapia no Sistema Único de Saúde do Brasil, 1995 a 2008.

OBJECTIVE: Describe the ambulatory physical therapy treatments provided by the Unified Health System (SUS) in Brazil with regard to their geographical distribution, costs, types of procedure, and types of provider. METHODS: Data from the SUS Information Technology Department (DATASUS) were utilized, drawing from the period from 1995 to 2008, which included the quantity and the value of the procedures approved for payment by the Secretariats of Health and the quantity and value of the procedures presented for payment. The treatment coefficients (CoA) were calculated by dividing the number of treatments in a particular year and region by the estimated population of that region in that year. RESULTS: The CoA in Brazil in 2008 was 0.19 and the North and Center-West regions presented the lowest coefficients (0.13 and 0.10, respectively). Between 1995 and 2007 there was an increase in the national treatment coefficient of 33.7%, with the North region showing the largest increase, 143.8%; the Center-West 62.1%, and the Northeast 56.1%. Treatment for motor disorders was the most widely performed procedure (61.8%), and the values of payments approved were lower than those presented by the managers of the services in 2008 (10.4%). Private for-profit establishments provided 44.5% of the physical therapy treatments paid for by the SUS in 2008. Municipal establishments accounted for 26.6% of the treatments, and federal establishments for only 0.9%. Between 1995 and 2007, the quantity of treatments offered by municipal establishments increased 278.7%. CONCLUSIONS: It was observed that the provision of ambulatory physical therapy treatment by the SUS remains small and geographically unequal, although less developed regions showed a larger increase in the CoA. The SUS remunerates inadequately the physical therapy services provided and continues to do so, in large part, by means of agreements with private establishments.

The relationship between the body mass index (BMI) and foot posture in elderly people.

We wanted to evaluate the postural characteristics of the feet of older people and their relationship with the BMI. We evaluated 227 older women and 172 older men with respect to the BMI, the arch index (AI) and the foot posture index (FPI). The obese women presented mean values for the AI significantly greater than those of the normal and overweight women. The means for some of the criteria of the FPI were significantly higher in the obese men. There was a positive correlation between the BMI and the AI and some of the FPI criteria. The conclusion was that obese women presented flatter feet while obese men presented more pronated feet, indicating a relationship between high BMI values and postural characteristics of the feet of subjects studied.