The impact of migration on women's mental health in the postpartum period / O impacto da migração na saúde mental das mulheres no pós-parto

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To assess the influence of I mmigration on the psychological health of women after childbirth. METHODS In this cross-sectional study, immigrant and Portuguese-native women delivering in the four public hospitals of the metropolitan area of Porto, Portugal, were contacted by telephone between February and December 2012 during the first postpartum month to schedule a home visit and fill in a questionnaire. Most immigrant (76.1%) and Portuguese mothers (80.0%) agreed to participate and with the visits, thus a total of 89 immigrants and 188 Portuguese women were included in the study. The questionnaire included the application of four validated scales: Mental Health Inventory-5, Edinburgh Postpartum Depression Scale, Perceived Stress Scale, and Scale of Satisfaction with Social Support. Statistical analysis included t-test and Chi-square or Fisher's test, and logistic regression models. RESULTS Immigrants had an increased risk of postpartum depression (OR = 6.444, 95%CI 1.858-22.344), and of low satisfaction with social support (OR = 6.118, 95%CI 1.991-18.798). We did not perceive any associations between migrant state, perceived stress, and impoverished mental health. CONCLUSIONS Immigrant mothers have increased vulnerabilities in the postpartum period, resulting in an increased risk of postpartum depression and lesser satisfaction with the received social support.

RESUMO OBJETIVO Avaliar a influência da imigração na saúde psicológica da mulher após o parto. MÉTODOS Neste estudo transversal, mulheres imigrantes e portuguesas com partos nos quatro hospitais públicos da região metropolitana de Porto, Portugal, foram contatadas por telefone entre fevereiro e dezembro de 2012, durante o primeiro mês pós-parto, para agendar uma visita domiciliar e preencher um questionário. A maioria das mães imigrantes (76,1%) e das mães portuguesas (80,0%) aceitou participar e aceder a visitas domiciliares, totalizando 89 imigrantes e 188 mulheres portuguesas incluídas no estudo. O questionário incluiu a aplicação de quatro escalas validadas: Inventário de Saúde Mental-5, Escala de Depressão Pós-parto de Edimburgo, Escala de Stress Percebido e Escala de Satisfação com o Suporte Social. As análises estatísticas incluíram os testes t-student, Qui-quadrado ou teste de Fisher e o cálculo de modelos de regressão logística. RESULTADOS As imigrantes tiveram risco aumentado de depressão pós-parto (OR 6,444; IC95% 1,858-22,344) e de baixa satisfação com o suporte social (OR = 6,118; IC95% 1,991-18,798). Não houve associação entre migração, stress percebido e saúde mental empobrecida. CONCLUSÕES Mães imigrantes apresentam vulnerabilidades aumentadas no período pós-parto, aumentando o risco de depressão pós-parto e havendo menor satisfação com o apoio social recebido.

Childhood thyroid cancer in Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine after Chernobyl and at present

Thyroid cancer in children is usually rare, but in the individuals exposed to radiation risk of disease increases considerably. After the Chernobyl accident in 1986, an over 10-fold maximal elevation in the incidence of thyroid cancer was registered about a decade later, cumulatively resulting in more than a thousand of newly diagnosed cases in children who lived in the territories of Belarus, Russia, and Ukraine affected by radioactive fallouts. Experience from the epidemic substantially promoted knowledge in clinical pediatric oncology, pathology and basic sciences. This article overviews epidemiology, clinical features, results of treatment and follow-up of childhood patients with radiation-induced Chernobyl thyroid cancer in comparison to sporadic cases diagnosed at present. In addition, we discuss general issues of pathology and molecular findings in childhood thyroid carcinomas.

O câncer de tiróide é habitualmente raro em crianças, mas em indivíduos expostos a radiação o risco da doença aumenta consideravelmente. Cerca de uma década após o acidente de Chernobil, em 1986, foi registrado um aumento de mais de 10 vezes na incidência de câncer de tiróide, resultando cumulativamente em mais de mil novos casos diagnosticados em crianças que viviam nos territórios da Bielorrússia, Russia, e Ucrânia, afetadas pela chuva radioativa. A experiência com essa epidemia resultou em conhecimento substancial de oncologia pediátrica clínica, patologia e ciências básicas. Este artigo analisa a epidemiologia, os achados clínicos, os resultados do tratamento e a evolução de pacientes pediátricos com câncer de tiróide induzido pela radiação de Chernobil, em comparação com casos esporádicos diagnosticados atualmente. Adicionalmente, serão discutidos tópicos de patologia e achados moleculares no carcinoma de tiróide infantil.

Current status of food-borne parasitic zoonoses--eastern Europe.

For this review, the countries of Eastern Europe are the USSR and Poland (in the eastern part of the European continent), what was formerly East Germany, Czechoslovakia, and Hungary (in the north and center), and Yugoslavia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Albania (to the south). During 1989 and 1990, all of these countries experienced remarkable political and social change, thereby making the term "Eastern Europe" a political anachronism. There are a great many differences among these countries in terms of human behavior, parasites, environment and animal husbandry practices. In spite of recent political changes, however, livestock husbandry practices, which affect the status of food-borne parasites, will not likely change in the near future. Some of the characteristics of the eastern European countries allow the epidemiology of food parasitic zoonoses to be discussed as a common problem.