Self-Perceived Impact of Oral Health on the Quality of Life of Women Deprived of Their Liberty.

BACKGROUND: Prison units are marked by structural deficiencies, especially in relation to the female gender. OBJECTIVES: To measure the self-perceived impact of oral health on the quality of life of Brazilian women in detention. Methodology. A survey was carried out conducted in the penitentiary at Juiz de Fora (Minas Gerais, Brazil) using an instrument with semistructured questions and validated scales, including the Oral Health Impact Profile-14. 99 women were interviewed. The analysis was based on a theoretical model of determination, with hierarchical blocks of variables. Bivariate analysis was done using the Mann-Whitney, test and multivariate analysis was used using linear regression. The significance level was set at 5%. RESULTS: 33% experienced tooth loss after incarceration, (3.70 ± 3.26 lost teeth). 65.6% rated the dental service as fair/poor. The highest prevalence of oral health impact was for the domains of psychological discomfort (50.5%) and physical pain (40.4%). There is a negative impact on psychological discomfort: the number of dental consultations in the past year and self-perceived general health. There is an impact on physical pain: self-declared color and anxiety. Self-perceived general health had an impact on the domains of psychological disability and social disadvantage. Depression had an impact on the total score. CONCLUSION: This study revealed a self-perceived impact of oral health on the quality of life of women inmates. We need to ensure high-quality access to dental treatment in prisons.

The "iatrogenic triad": polypharmacy, drug-drug interactions, and potentially inappropriate medications in older adults.

Background The elderly population is often in continuous use of several medications and is more subject to the "iatrogenic triad" of polypharmacy, potentially inappropriate medication use and drug-drug interactions. However, few studies have investigated these three factors concomitantly. Purpose To assess the prevalence and inter-relationship of potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) use, polypharmacy and drug-drug interactions in older adults, together with their associated factors. Setting city of Juiz de Fora, Brazil. Methods a cross-sectional, observational and door-to-door epidemiologic study in community-dwelling older adults was conducted. Main outcome measure The primary outcomes were polypharmacy, inappropriate medication use (2012 Beers and 2015 STOPP criteria) and drug-drug interactions. Associated factors were also investigated using bivariate and multivariate analyses. Results a total of 368 (92%) older adults were in continuous use of at least one drug. There was a high prevalence of polypharmacy (44.6%), drug-drug interaction (72.3%) and PIMs by Beers (42.1%) and PIMs by STOPP (46.2%). Analysis of the inter-relationship of the criteria (polypharmacy, PIMs STOPP and drug-drug interactions) revealed that 108 (29.3%) of the older adults had all three criteria concomitantly and multivariate analysis showed that frailty and having a caregiver were associated with this "iatrogenic triad". Conclusion A high prevalence of iatrogenic effects from drugs was found in the older adults assessed. One in every three elderly participants of the study had all three iatrogenic criteria concomitantly, highlighting the major public health impact of this problem. The results of this study can serve to inform new preventive and educational strategies for health professionals.

Comparison of four criteria for potentially inappropriate medications in Brazilian community-dwelling older adults.

AIM: To compare four potentially inappropriate medication (PIM) criteria from different regions of the world in terms of their characteristics, concordance, sensitivity, specificity and predictive values in a community-dwelling sample. METHODS: A cross-sectional, observational, epidemiological study was carried out by a door-to-door survey in a Brazilian city. The following PIM criteria were applied: Beers-2015, Screening Tool of Older People's Potentially Inappropriate Prescriptions (STOPP)-2015, The European Union (EU)(7)-PIM list and Taiwan criteria. The associations of criteria with the presence or absence of falls, hospitalizations and cognitive impairment were determined, and their sensitivity, specificity, positive predictive value, negative predictive value and concordance among the criteria were assessed. RESULTS: A total of 368 (92%) older adults were in continuous use of at least one drug. A high prevalence of PIM by Beers (50.0 %), STOPP (46.2%), EU(7)-PIM (59.5%) and Taiwan 31.3%) criteria was found. There was a high concordance among the PIM criteria (66.3-81.8%), and a moderate-to-high intraclass correlation between criteria (0.607-0.851). In general, the Taiwan criterion had lower levels of sensitivity (25.7-34.0%) and higher levels of specificity (67.8-70.3%), The EU(7)-PIM criteria had higher levels of sensitivity (60-75.3%) and lower levels of specificity (41.1-46.9%), whereas the Beers and STOPP had a more balanced sensitivity/specificity ratio (sensitivity: STOPP 50.7-55.3% and Beers 53.0-56.9 %; specificity: STOPP 56-56.6% and Beers 51.6-53.8%). CONCLUSIONS: The present study found moderate-to-high levels of concordance among the four PIM criteria assessed, pointing to a consensus in this field. However, each criterion showed particular characteristics: the EU(7)-PIM criterion had higher sensitivity, the Taiwan criterion higher specificity, and the Beers and STOPP a more balanced profile. These results highlight that each criterion has its own characteristics, and should be used according to health providers' objectives. Geriatr Gerontol Int 2017; 17: 1628-1635.

Health-related quality of life in hemophilia: results of the Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life Index (Haem-a-Qol) at a Brazilian blood center.

BACKGROUND: Studies on health-related quality of life are based on the increasingly evident need for medical care not to be limited to preventing death, but to focus instead on the value of health. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to measure the health-related quality of life in hemophilia, using the Hemophilia- Specific Quality of Life (Haem-A-QoL) questionnaire and describe the socioeconomic characteristics and health conditions of these patients. METHODS: The Brazilian version of the Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire was administered to hemophiliac adults, treated in an on-demand regime at the Juiz de Fora Regional Blood Center - HEMOMINAS Foundation. The patients were interviewed about demographic and socioeconomic data and their understanding of the questionnaire. Clinical data were collected from medical records. The Mann-Whitney U test was used for statistical analysis. The level of significance was set for p-values < 0.05. Statistical analysis was performed using the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS, version 15.0). RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were evaluated. The mean age was 36.8 years. 84.6% had hemophilia A; 20.5% of the patients had hemophilia classified as mild, 41% as moderate and 38.5% as severe. The records of 10.5% of the patients registered seropositivity for anti-HIV and 57.9% for anti-HCV. Target joints were detected in 69.2%. The mean total Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life score was 35.55. 'Sports and leisure'and 'Physical health'were the most impaired dimensions and the dimension 'Relationship and partners'was the least impaired. The Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life scores showed good discriminant validity for hemophilia severity (p-value = 0.001), HIV-infection (p-value = 0.02), HCV-infection (p-value = 0.01) and the presence of target joints (p-value < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Health-related quality of life in hemophilia, measured by the Hemophilia-Specific Quality of Life questionnaire, was influenced by the presence of arthropathy and infectious diseases transmitted by blood products. Rehabilitation measures should be encouraged in order to improve the quality of life of these patients.

Clinical and functional evaluation of the joint status of hemophiliac adults at a Brazilian blood center.

BACKGROUND: Hemophilia is a potentially disabling condition as hemophilic arthropathy develops early in life and is progressive, especially in patients treated in an on-demand regime. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to describe the structural joint status and the functional independence score of hemophiliac adults and correlate structural damage with the functional deficits found in these patients. METHODS: Hemophiliacs at the Juiz de Fora Regional Blood Center - HEMOMINAS Foundation, aged 18 years and over and treated in an on-demand regime, were clinically evaluated in respect to structural joint damage using the World Federation of Hemophilia Physical Examination Scale (WFH-PE) and functional deficits using the Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia (FISH). The Spearman rank test was used to evaluate the correlation between the two scores. RESULTS: Thirty-nine patients were evaluated. The mean age was 36.8 years. Target joints were detected in 69.2% of patients studied. The mean Physical Examination Scale and Functional Independence Score were 16.87 and 25.64, respectively. Patients with mild hemophilia showed no significant joint involvement. Patients with severe or moderate hemophilia had similar results regarding structural damage (p-value < 0.001) and functional deficits (p-value = 0.001). There was statistical significance in the correlation between the two scores (r = -0.850; p-value = 0.01). CONCLUSIONS: The World Federation of Hemophilia Physical Examination Scale and Functional Independence Score in Hemophilia may be useful to clinically assess structural joint damage and functional deficits in hemophiliacs as the tools are inexpensive and easy to administer and may be able to detect hemophilic arthropathy, which results from recurrent hemarthrosis and is common in the population studied.