Standardized phase angle: relationship with functionality, muscle mass and postoperative outcomes in surgical cancer patients.

To evaluate the association of standardized phase angle (SPA) with nutritional status, functional parameters, and postoperative outcomes in surgical cancer patients. This prospective study includes 59 cancer patients from Pelotas (Brazil) admitted for elective cancer surgery. We obtained the phase angle through Bioelectrical Impedance Analysis (BIA) and standardized it according to the population's reference values. We estimated the muscle mass using BIA for later calculation of the Skeletal Muscle Index (SMI) and performed handgrip strength (HGS) and gait speed (GS) tests. We used the Patient-Generated Subjective Global Assessment (PG-SGA) to assess the nutritional status. Postoperative complications and duration of hospital stay were evaluated as the outcomes. The prevalence of malnutrition in the sample was 28.8%, according to ASG-PPP. SPA was statistically lower in patients with malnutrition, with lower HGS and reduced GS. For postoperative outcomes, patients with severe complications and those with prolonged hospitalization also had lower SPA values. The greater the number of functional alterations in patients, the lower the SPA value, mainly when associated with reduced muscle mass assessed by BIA, suggesting that muscle mass reduction plays an important role in the association between functional alterations and phase angle in patients with cancer. According to the parameters used in this study, low SPA value was associated with impaired nutritional and functional status and negative outcomes in the analyzed sample.

Intergenerational breastfeeding practices among parents and children: 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort.

The objective of this study was to investigate intergenerational breastfeeding practices according to parental sex and age at delivery in the 1993 Pelotas (Brazil) birth cohort study. This is a prospective birth cohort study, and at the 22-year follow-up, a substudy with all children of the cohort members who had become parents was conducted (93Cohort-II). First generation breastfeeding data were collected at 3 months and 4-year-old follow-ups. In the 93Cohort-II, parents answered a questionnaire about their children's breastfeeding practices. Adjusted Tobit and Poisson regression models with robust variance were applied to estimate the association between predominant parental breastfeeding duration and exclusive breastfeeding duration of the children at 3 and 6 months. Out of 3,810 cohort participants, 955 (25%) had delivered at least one live-born infant, and 1,222 children were assessed. Fifty-four percent of parents were ≤19 years old. Direct effects of predominant parental breastfeeding duration on exclusive breastfeeding duration of their children were only observed when data were stratified by parental age: children born to parents aged ≥20 years old and who were predominantly breastfed for at least 3 months presented higher exclusive breastfeeding duration and higher prevalence of being exclusively breastfed for at least 3 months. When analyses were stratified by mothers and fathers, the result remained significant only among mothers. Longer predominant breastfeeding duration in the first generation was associated with longer exclusive breastfeeding duration in the second generation, but only among older mothers. Education and social support surrounding breastfeeding should be intensified among fathers and younger parents to create a positive environment supportive of breastfeeding.

[Association between waist circumference and body mass index of Brazilian women: NDHS 2006]. / Associação entre circunferência da cintura e índice de massa corporal de mulheres brasileiras: PNDS 2006.

The scope of this study was to evaluate the association between waist circumference (WC) and body mass index (BMI) of Brazilian women of childbearing age studied in the most recent National Demographic and Health Survey (NDHS), in 2006. This study is an excerpt of the NDHS, which is a home-based cross-sectional study. The nutritional status of women was assessed by WC and BMI, considering excess weight to be BMI = 25 Kg/m2 and WC risk to be = 80 cm. To evaluate the statistical significance, Poisson Regression was applied to identify factors associated with WC risk in women with or without excess weight, presenting the p-value corresponding to the Wald test for heterogeneity or linear trend. Of the 14,101 women studied, 45.8% were overweight and 55.5% at WC risk. Regarding the association between BMI and WC, it was found that 23.5% of women who were not overweight showed WC risk. After a stratified analysis by BMI, the prevalence of WC risk among women without excess weight was greatest in the Northeast, 26.0%, and the Southeast, 24.5%, while the South region presented the lowest prevalence at 18.5%. It follows that the anthropometric WC and BMI measures should be used concomitantly since the use of only one of these measures may overlook individuals at risk for various diseases.

[A comparison between two food security scales]. / Comparação entre duas escalas de segurança alimentar.

The scope of this study was to evaluate the influence of the social determinants and the provision of primary care services in relation to the use of emergency dental care services in a medium-sized municipality. Data recorded for the 57,231 users of emergency care between 2007 and 2009, in accordance with age, gender, date and period of dental care, social exclusion indices of the suburb in which they live and the existence of a benchmark oral health team, were used to perform the analysis. Of the total population, 5.24% on average per year used the service during the period under scrutiny, with the 20-49 year age group (63.84%) showing the highest demand and equality between genders for such care. Surgical procedures (54.90%) were the most prevalent with an increasing trend for restorative procedures (62,8%). Users living in areas of greater social exclusion were 4.15 times more likely to seek dental care (p < 0.05). No statistically significant association was found between gender or the existence of an oral health team of the suburb in which they live and the demand for emergency dental care. In conclusion, there was greater recourse to emergency municipal dental care by individuals living in vulnerable areas, proving the importance of such care in diminishing oral health inequality.