Smoking Prevalence Among Users of Primary Healthcare Units in Brazil: The Role of Religiosity.

The objective of this cross-sectional study is to examine the association between religious involvement and tobacco use in a large representative sample of users of primary healthcare units of Ribeirão Preto, Southeast Brazil. Current and past smoking habits were determined among 1055 users of primary healthcare units. Participants' religiosity was measured using the DUREL questionnaire. The prevalence of smoking among men was 16.8% [95% confidence interval (CI) 12.0-22.5] and among women was 12.6% (95% CI 10.4-15.0). Among the current smokers, 40.9% were light smokers, 24.6% were moderate smokers, and 34.5% were heavy smokers. The mean number of cigarettes smoked per day was 13.5. Respondents who have a religion had a lower smoking prevalence than people who had no religion. Current smoking prevalence tended to be higher among people who do not practice their religion than people who practice their religion. Smoking status is also associated with self-reported religiosity, organizational religious activity and some aspects of intrinsic religiosity. Religiosity is an important factor in influencing the smoking behavior in Brazilian users of the public health services.

Factors associated with community-acquired pneumonia in hospitalised children and adolescents aged 6 months to 13 years old.

UNLABELLED: According to the World Health Organisation, community-acquired pneumonia is the main cause of paediatric death, accounting for 20 % of deaths in children younger than 5 years old, and 90 % of these deaths occur in non-industrialised countries. This study has as objective to evaluate the influence of socio-economic, environmental and breastfeeding factors on the occurrence of pneumonia. An unmatched case-control study was conducted in children aged 6 months to 13 years old at a children's hospital in Brazil. Multivariate analysis by logistic regression was performed to determine the variables used to predict pneumonia. A total of 252 children were selected. In the adjusted (by age) multivariate analysis, the following variables were associated with community-acquired pneumonia: (a) protective factors: breastfeeding >3 months, absence of other unrelated comorbidities, non-smoking mother, being the only child, child's age >5 years and mother's age >19 years old; (b) risk factors: maternal education <8 years and child's birth order [≥second]. In the multivariate analysis, considering only children from 6 months to 5 years old, the following variables were associated with community-acquired pneumonia: (a) protective factors: breastfeeding >3 months, non-smoking mother and no smokers in the child's bedroom; (b) risk factors: maternal education <8 years and prenatal complications. CONCLUSION: These findings contribute favourably to effectively minimising the risk factors related to the disease process and natural history of community-acquired pneumonia.

[Critical evaluation of the Primary Care Information System (SIAB) and its implementation in Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brazil]. / Avaliação crítica do Sistema de Informação da Atenção Básica (SIAB) e de sua implantação na região de Ribeirão Preto, São Paulo, Brasil.

As the health information system used by the Family Health Program teams, the Primary Care Information System (SIAB) is a potential tool for follow-up of registered families and local planning, thus motivating the present study. Semi-structured interviews were held with key individuals in this health information system chain, among Family Health Teams in the municipality of Ribeirão Preto and surrounding region, São Paulo State, Brazil, with the objective of analyzing certain characteristics in the system, including: knowledge and having received training to handle it and utilization for local planning and social control. The study concluded that the SIAB is an easy system to handle, but that it presents some limitations already found in other health information systems, such as: difficulty in identifying individuals in the program, limited number of diseases reported, and limited utilization to back planning and decision-making at the local level. Therefore, the analysis of the SIAB was highly important for improving this health information system and can contribute to future improvements and adaptations in the program.

Profile analysis of patients with HIV/AIDS hospitalized after the introduction of antiretroviral therapy.

Since the introduction of highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) in 1996, there have been worldwide shifts in the causes of hospitalization for patients with HIV/AIDS. The aim of this study was to describe the characteristics of HIV/AIDS patient hospitalizations between 1997 and 2012. This cross-sectional study used a hospital database that centralizes records of admissions in 31 hospitals, both public and private, across 26 municipalities in the interior of São Paulo. In order to verify associations between the variables, we used the prevalence ratio (PR) and a 95% confidence interval. Among 9,797 adults and children, 10,696 admissions were registered, which was equal to 1.09 admissions per patient. Most (62%) of the patients were male, and the predominant age group was 21 and 50 years (63.5%). Mortality was higher among male patients from all age groups (PR= 1.42 [95% CI: 1.28-1.57]; p < 0.05). The main cause of hospitalization (54.5% of the total) was infectious disease, whether opportunistic or not. This was true, even in the post-HAART era. Furthermore, gender and age differences were noted in patient mortality rates.

Rituximab, fludarabine, and cyclophosphamide versus fludarabine and cyclophosphamide for treatment of chronic lymphocytic leukemia: A systematic review with meta-analysis.

BACKGROUND: Chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) is a disease of the lymphoid system, in which the most common therapy is fludarabine plus cyclophosphamide (FC). The addition of rituximab to FC has been used, a combination known as FCR. OBJECTIVES: To perform a systematic review with meta-analysis of clinical trials between 2000 and 2012 comparing FC and FCR in patients with CLL. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Electronic databases were searched using keywords related to the objectives of this review. The outcomes examined were progression-free survival and complete remission. RESULTS: The progression-free survival and the overall survival showed significant difference between the two regimens, with complete remission being more frequent in FCR-treated patients (odds ratio=2.58; 95% CI: 2.13-3.13). Patients treated with FCR showed significantly higher neutropenia and serious adverse reactions. CONCLUSION: Despite the favorable results of the FCR regimen on outcomes including complete remission, progression-free survival, and overall survival, there is a lack of methodological rigor and appropriate analyses in many of these studies, and thus, there is a need for further studies examining the effect of rituximab in CLL patients.

[Factors associated with the demand for health services from a gender-relational perspective]. / Fatores associados à procura por serviços de saúde numa perspectiva relacional de gênero.

Male culture values involve risk behaviors to health, since the way men perceive and experience their masculinity is one of the most influential shapers of falling sick and dying. The scope of this study was to identify the factors associated with the demand for health services and differences between the sexes by selecting users of health services. The dependent variables were sex of the user (cultural indicator) and failure to seek out health services. Independent variables included socio-demographic and clinical-epidemiological characteristics. The Prevalence Ratio studied by univariate and multivariate analysis was used in the analysis of the association between variables. The factors associated with non-demand for health services included: being male, hours of operation of health care facilities, working hours of the user and not having any disease. By multivariate analysis the factors facilitating demand for health services (protection) were: being female aged 26 to 49 years. Effective consolidation of a health care model that questions the contradiction that exists between the epidemiological data regarding men's health and the position of the health services using common sense regarding the apparent invulnerability of men to falling sick is of great relevance.