Puberty in a sample of brazilian schoolboys: onset and anthropometric characteristics / Puberdade em uma amostra de meninos escolares brasileiros: início e características antropométricas

ABSTRACT Objective: To determine the age of puberty onset in boys and collect anthropometric data of participants at different puberty stages. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study that assessed 430 boys in a random sample representing 48,390 students from public and private schools from the city of Uberaba, Southeast Brazil. The inclusion criteria were males, aged between 5 and 18 years, and absence of previous diseases. Participants and their guardians filled a semistructured questionnaire with questions relevant to their and their parents' puberty. We set the significance at p<0.05 and calculated the 95% confidence intervals. Results: The mean age found in the puberty stage G2 was 11.2±1.8 (95% of participants in stage G2 were 9.2-13.4 years old). Pubarche data showed a mean of age of 11.0±1.6 years (95% of the participants experienced pubarche when they were 8.0-14.0 years old). When compared to the confidence intervals of two classical studies on the subject, our results showed a trend toward earlier pubarche. In addition, the mean age of this event in the children's parents was of 12.1±1.4 years, which was significantly higher than the age of the children's pubarche (p<0.001). Conclusions: These results indicate a secular decreasing trend in pubarche age and an earlier puberty onset. Considering these parameters, is important to design public policies aimed at preventing these early events.

RESUMO Objetivo: Determinar a idade em que a puberdade começa em meninos e coletar dados antropométricos de participantes em diferentes fases da puberdade. Métodos: Trata-se de um estudo transversal no qual foram avaliados 430 meninos, uma amostra aleatória representativa da população total de 48.390 estudantes de escolas públicas e particulares de Uberaba, Minas Gerais. Os critérios de inclusão foram: ser do sexo masculino, ter idade de 5 a 18 anos e ausência de doenças prévias. Os participantes e seus responsáveis preencheram um questionário semiestruturado com perguntas pertinentes à sua puberdade e à de seus pais. Os dados foram considerados significantes para p<0,05, e os intervalos de confiança calculados foram de 95%. Resultados: A média de idade encontrada no estágio G2 foi de 11,2±1,8 anos, sendo que 95% dos participantes em G2 tinham entre 9,2 a 13,4 anos. Quanto à pubarca, a média de idade foi de 11,0±1,6 anos, e 95% dos participantes apresentaram pubarca entre 8,0 e 14,0 anos. Quando tais resultados foram comparados aos intervalos de confiança de dois estudos clássicos sobre o tema, houve tendência à pubarca mais precoce. Além disso, a média de idade da pubarca nos pais das crianças foi de 12,1±1,4 anos, significantemente maior em relação à dos filhos (p<0,001). Conclusões: Os resultados indicam uma tendência secular em direção à diminuição da idade da pubarca e um possível início mais precoce da puberdade. É muito importante considerar esses parâmetros para estabelecer políticas públicas destinadas a prevenir esses eventos iniciais.

Leprosy incidence, characterization of cases and correlation with household and cases variables of the Brazilian states in 2010

Abstract BACKGROUND: Leprosy is millenary disease and still persists in several countries. OBJECTIVES: To estimate the incidence of leprosy in the Brazilian states and for the country in the year 2010; to describe the cases reported according to the studied variables; to verify the correlation between the overall incidence and the studied variables. METHODS: Ecological descriptive study, with population data from the 27 states, 2010. Information about reported cases were collected: gender, race, percentage of patients younger than 15 years old and living conditions. The analysis was performed using percentages, means, incidence rates and the Spearman correlation test. RESULTS: The states of Mato Grosso and Tocantins recorded the highest incidence rates; Rio Grande do Sul and Santa Catarina, the lowest; there was a higher incidence of leprosy among men; the incidence of leprosy increases proportionally with the nonwhites among the inhabitants; patients younger than 15 years; the average number of residents per household; and a decrease in coverage of water supply and presence of bathrooms. CONCLUSION: The incidence of leprosy is related to factors as gender, race and house conditions (p<0,05 for all).