[Spatial risk distribution: modeling infant mortality in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil]. / Distribuição espacial do risco: modelagem da mortalidade infantil em Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil.

Estimation and mapping of risk profiles are the main concerns of epidemiology. This paper analyzes spatial distribution of infant mortality cases as compared to live-born controls from Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul. The modeling framework adopted in this research work is a spatial point process. Under this structure, a risk measure which continuously varies over the study region is defined and estimated using generalized additive model methods. This approach has the advantage of allowing for risk factors that are simple and easy to interpret. The procedure also allows the construction of tolerance contours which help identify areas of significantly high/low risk and an overall test for the null hypothesis of constant risk over the region. Application of this method to infant mortality data showed a highly significant spatial variation in risk for neonatal mortality data and non-significant results for post-neonatal mortality data.

[Prevalence and risk factors for anemia among children in Brazil]. / Prevalência e determinantes de anemia em crianças de Porto Alegre, RS, Brasil.

OBJECTIVE: To verify the prevalence of anemia among children aged 0 to 36 months, who attend public day care centers in Porto Alegre, Brazil, and assess its possible risk factors. METHODS: A cross-sectional study was carried out in 557 children aged 0 to 36 months of all public day care centers in Porto Alegre. Anthropometric measurements and hemoglobin levels were performed. The portable HemoCue photometer was employed to measure hemoglobin levels, and anemia was considered when the hemoglobin level was below 11 g/dl. Information regarding each child was obtained by means of a questionnaire applied to the mother. The association of the variables studied to anemia was analyzed using the log-binomial regression technique applied to the hierarchical model. RESULTS: A 47.8% prevalence of anemia was found in this population. The risk factors for anemia in the studied group were: families with per capita income equal or less than one monthly minimal wage (prevalence ratio - RP =1.6), age between 12 and 23 months (RP=1.4), and having 2 or more siblings younger than 5 years old (RP=1.4). CONCLUSIONS: There is a high prevalence of anemia among children aged 0 to 36 months in public day care centers, especially among children with the lowest socioeconomic level, in the 12 to 23 months age group, and who have 2 or more siblings under 5 years of age, indicating that there is an urgent need for effective measures to fight and prevent this condition.