Helena Benes Matos da Silva

Objective: The present study aimed to evaluate the association between syphilis in pregnancy and low birth weight, small for gestational age, and preterm birth.Methods: This longitudinal study used Brazilian National Information System for livebirths (SINASC) linked to the gestational syphilis cases from Notifiable Diseases Information System (SINAN) from 2011 to 2017. Descriptive statistics and logistic regression were used to compare the birth outcomes of pregnant women with and without syphilis. The study protocol was approved by the Research Ethics Committee of the Institute of Collective Health of the Federal University of Bahia (CAAE: registration no. 18022319.4.0000.5030).Results: A total of 17 930 817 live births were included in the study. Of these, 155 214 (8.7/1000) were exposed to syphilis during pregnancy. Maternal syphilis increased the odds of low birth weight (aOR 1.88, 95% CI: 1.85–1.91), small for gestational age (aOR 1.53, 95% CI: 1.51–1.56), and preterm birth (aOR 1.35, 95% CI: 1.33–1.37). Higher odds were observed for pregnant women with VDRL titer ≥64 and untreated maternal syphilis when compared to mothers without syphilis. Analysis stratified by prenatal care showed higher odds for all adverse birth outcomes for mothers attending ≤6 prenatal appointments.Conclusion: Our findings showed a strong association between gestational syphilis and adverse birth outcomes with increased odds observed among women with higher VDRL titers, lack of treatment, and fewer prenatal appointments. These results highlight the need for adequate screening and treatment for gestational syphilis during pregnancy to mitigate the risk of adverse birth outcomes.

Background: The literature contains scarce data on inequalities in growth trajectories among children born to mothers of diverse ethnoracial background in the first 5 years of life. Objective: We aimed to investigate child growth according to maternal ethnoracial group using a nationwide Brazilian database. Methods: A population-based retrospective cohort study employed linked data from the CIDACS Birth Cohort and the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Surveillance System (SISVAN). Children born at term, aged 5 years or younger who presented two or more measurements of length/height (cm) and weight (kg) were followed up between 2008 and 2017. Prevalence of stunting, underweight, wasting, and thinness were estimated. Nonlinear mixed effect models were used to estimate childhood growth trajectories, among different maternal ethnoracial groups (White, Asian descent, Black, Pardo, and Indigenous), using the raw measures of weight (kg) and height (cm) and the length/height-for-age (L/HAZ) and weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ). The analyses were also adjusted for mother’s age, educational level, and marital status. Results: A total of 4,090,271 children were included in the study. Children of Indigenous mothers exhibited higher rates of stunting (26.74%) and underweight (5.90%). Wasting and thinness were more prevalent among children of Pardo, Asian, Black, and Indigenous mothers than those of White mothers. Regarding children’s weight (kg) and length/height (cm), those of Indigenous, Pardo, Black, and Asian descent mothers were on average shorter and weighted less than White ones. Regarding WAZ and L/HAZ growth trajectories, a sharp decline in average z-scores was evidenced in the first weeks of life, followed by a period of recovery. Over time, z-scores for most of the subgroups analyzed trended below zero. Children of mother in greater social vulnerability showed less favorable growth. Conclusion: We observed racial disparities in nutritional status and childhood growth trajectories, with children of Indigenous mothers presenting less favorable outcomes compared to their White counterparts. The strengthening of policies aimed at protecting Indigenous children should be urgently undertaken to address systematic ethnoracial health inequalities.

Antioxidants are compounds associated with delayed aging and the prevention of cancer and inflammatory diseases. These substances can be lost during food processing. Therefore, this work sought to quantitatively characterize the content of bioactive compounds in kale after different treatments and to explore the data generated using principal component analysis (PCA). The analyzes of the total phenolic contents were performed by the Folin-Ciocalteu method and the antioxidant activity were performed by the DPPH and FRAP methods. The graphs of the scores showed that the total phenolics were grouped according to the part of the kale and the solvent used for the extraction, while the graph of the loading showed the influence of the heat treatment in the extraction. It is concluded that the amount of total phenolics contents and antioxidant activity varies depending on the extraction solvent, parts of the vegetable and heat treatment and that this favored its extraction.

O distanciamento social adotado para controle da COVID-19 obrigou Instituições de Ensino Superior (IES) a aderirem a novas estratégias para realização das atividades acadêmicas e muitas pesquisas passaram a ser realizadas em ambientes virtuais. O objetivo deste artigo é descrever os aspectos metodológicos e principais desafios enfrentados para a execução do projeto COCASa, um estudo de coorte on-line sobre comportamento alimentar e saúde mental de docentes e discentes de IES do Brasil. O estudo foi iniciado em julho de 2020 e acompanhará os participantes por dois anos. Adotou-se amostragem não probabilística estratificada proporcional com a utilização de escalas, de inquérito alimentar e de questões estruturadas elaboradas pela equipe do projeto. Entre os participantes do baseline, 4.074 discentes e 2.210 docentes iniciaram o questionário e, respectivamente, 76,8% e 85,1% finalizaram o preenchimento. Em ambos os grupos, a maior participação foi de mulheres (docentes: 66,7% e discentes: 76,2%) e residentes nas regiões Nordeste (docentes: 37% e discentes: 50,9%) e Sul (docentes: 27,1% e discentes: 22,5%) do Brasil. A pesquisa on-line amplia a possibilidade de recrutamento de participantes e alcança limites territoriais com menor demanda por financiamento. Durante a pandemia da COVID-19, o uso do ambiente virtual tornou-se uma estratégia viável e acessível para a manutenção das atividades de pesquisa, configurando-se como uma provável tendência a ser adotada pela comunidade científica.

O ganho de peso não intencional está emergindo como uma complicação da pandemia da COVID-19. Considerando a popularização no uso de dados da Internet como parte integrante da informática em saúde, os mesmos podem ser úteis na análise e previsão do comportamento humano. Este estudo analisou as tendências de buscas de usuários brasileiros sobre estratégias para perda de peso. Foi conduzido um estudo infodemiológico, retrospectivo e quantitativo, que examinou dados da ferramenta Google Trends Search Application entre março/2020 a agosto/2021. Os resultados revelaram que a busca por temas relacionados à perda de peso foi expressiva durante os 17 meses pesquisados, em quase todo o país. Os estados que mais se destacaram nas buscas foram Acre, Piauí e Santa Catarina. Em contrapartida, os usuários do Amazonas, Distrito Federal, Mato Grosso, Mato Grosso do Sul e Rio de Janeiro demonstraram menor interesse na temática abordada. As estratégias de emagrecimento com maior popularidade foram dieta e jejum, enquanto exercício físico e remédios para emagrecer apresentaram baixos volumes relativos de buscas (VRBs). Visando a investigação dos demais indicadores e termos de interesse em saúde, novos estudos sobre o tema são necessários para que possam auxiliar na compreensão do cenário corrente e futuro, em âmbito nacional e global, para as questões que envolvem alimentação e nutrição veiculadas na internet.