Correlation between the symptoms of upper gastrointestinal disease and endoscopy findings: Implications for clinical practice.

OBJECTIVE: Digestive symptoms are the most common complaints among patients who seek primary healthcare services. This study aims to identify digestive symptoms and determine their association with upper gastrointestinal endoscopy findings in patients treated at a public endoscopy centre in Northeast Brazil. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from 751 patients with digestive symptoms who had an indication for upper gastrointestinal endoscopy. We identified the association between these variables through Fisher's exact test or Chi-square test and calculated the odds ratio. RESULTS: Epigastric pain occurred in 83%, post-prandial plenitude in 72.6%, and heartburn in 72.3% of the patients. Women were more likely to present with epigastric pain (p = 0.001; odds ratio [OR] = 1.25; confidence interval [CI] = 1.07-1.47), post-prandial plenitude (p = 0.001; OR = 1.21; CI = 1.06-1.37), retrosternal pain or burning (p = 0.03; OR = 1.11; CI = 1.004-1.24), heartburn (p = 0.04; OR = 1.10; CI = 0.98-1.24), unintentional weight loss (p = 0.01; OR = 1.12; CI = 1.02-1.24), and dysphagia (p = 0.01; OR = 1.14; CI = 1.03-1.25). There was no statistically significant association between digestive symptoms and endoscopic findings of the upper gastrointestinal tract. Additionally, there was no significant association between digestive symptoms and abnormalities detected by endoscopy. CONCLUSION: Dyspeptic symptoms of epigastric pain, post-prandial fullness, and heartburn were the most common symptoms in patients referred for endoscopy. Dyspepsia, heartburn, and dysphagia were more common in women than in men. Digestive symptoms were not associated with positive endoscopy findings or abnormalities detected by endoscopy.

Sociodemographic and Behavioral Factors Associated with HIV Vulnerability according to Sexual Orientation.

OBJECTIVE: To analyze sociodemographic and behavioral factors associated with vulnerability to HIV according to sexual orientation. METHOD: This is a cross-sectional study conducted using data on 3,818 people in the city of Imperatriz, Brazil, during 2015 and 2016. The survey's questionnaires addressed sociodemographic and behavioral variables. For the data analysis, association (chi-square test) and strength of association (odds ratio) were observed. A significance level of p < 0.05 and adjustment for age and gender were taken into consideration. RESULTS: A substantial portion of the sample stated they were heterosexual (88.8%). These individuals demonstrated a lower chance of HIV infection (p < 0.001), sexually transmitted infections (p < 0.001), alcohol use (p < 0.001) and condom use (p < 0.001), compared to men who have sex with men and/or bisexuals. In this group, after adjusting for confounding variables, the factors associated with HIV infection were being male (p < 0.001), unmarried (p < 0.001), having completed higher education (p < 0.001) and boasting multiple sexual partners (p < 0.001). CONCLUSION: Behavioral and sociodemographic factors of vulnerability to HIV are predominant among men who have sex with men and/or are bisexual.