Prevalence and impact of asthma in schoolchildren in the city of Caxias do Sul-RS

Knowledge and experience of Primary Education teachers regarding childhood asthma: mixed study

OBJECTIVE

To analyze the knowledge of Primary Education teachers regarding asthma and learn about their experiences with the exacerbation of symptoms at school.

METHOD

Sequential explanatory mixed study. In the quantitative stage, the Newcastle Asthma Knowledge Questionnaire and the characterization instrument were applied. Data analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics. The production of qualitative data occurred from written statements analyzed using the deductive content analysis method.

RESULTS

Two hundred and seven teachers, mostly women (92%) and working in public schools (82%). As for knowledge, 132 (63.8%) had unsatisfactory performance. The questions with the lowest rates of correct answers were about medications used regularly and during the attacks. Teachers with higher scores had less time in the occupation (p = 0.017) and had been diagnosed with asthma (p = 0.006). In the qualitative stage, 35 teachers participated and the statements corroborated the quantitative findings, especially in relation to the knowledge gap and feeling of greater safety among asthmatic teachers.

CONCLUSION

Teachers showed insufficient knowledge and reported fear and unpreparedness in the face of the situation.

Climate seasonality and lower respiratory tract diseases: a predictive model for pediatric hospitalizations

OBJECTIVES

to analyze the climate seasonality of respiratory diseases in children aged 0-9 years and present a model to predict hospital admissions for 2021 to 2022.

METHODS

verify, in a temporal manner, the correlation of admissions for pneumonia, bronchitis/bronchiolitis, and asthma with meteorological variables, aiming to demonstrate seasonality with the adjustment of temporal series models.

RESULTS

there was a seasonal effect in the number of registered cases for all diseases, with the highest incidence of registrations in the months of autumn and winter.

CONCLUSIONS

it was possible to observe a tendency towards a decrease in the registration of pneumonia cases; In cases of admissions due to bronchitis and bronchiolitis, there was a slight tendency towards an increase; and, in occurrence rates of asthma, there was no variation in the number of cases.

Maternal and early childhood factors associated with asthma and obesity in children aged 6 to 7 years: a case control study

Objective

To determine the maternal and early childhood factors associated with asthma and obesity in children aged 6 to 7 years.

Methods

A case-control study conducted with children aged 6 to 7 years. Applications with questions about asthma symptoms in the last 12 months, maternal and childhood data in the first 2 years of life, and anthropometric data were collected. Children who presented asthma symptoms were considered as cases and those without asthma symptoms were considered as controls, later divided into two subgroups that were eutrophic or overweight/obesity. Logistic regression was performed to estimate the association between asthma symptoms (adequate weight and overweight/obesity) and gestational and personal factors, calculating odds ratio and 95% confidence interval (95%CI). Values of p<0.05 were considered significant.

Results

Two hundred and one children were evaluated, 25.4% had asthma symptoms, 37.2% of them were overweight/obesity. Waist circumference, triceps skinfold, and body mass index were higher in the group with overweight/obesity asthma symptoms compared to no asthma symptoms (p<0.05). Factors significantly associated with asthma and overweight/obesity symptoms included: the maternal history of asthma (odds ratio of 3.73; 95%CI: 1.10-12.6) and hypertension during pregnancy (odds ratio of 3.29; 95%CI: 1.08-9.94).

Conclusion

Maternal history of asthma and hypertension during pregnancy increased the chances of children, at 6 and 7 years of age, having symptoms of asthma and obesity.

Molar-incisor hypomineralization and dental caries: A hierarchical approach in a populational-based study

The last couple of decades has seen an increasing interest in molar-incisor hypomineralization (MIH) studies. Hypomineralized defects can have several consequences such as hypersensitivity, increased dental plaque accumulation, and consequently higher caries risk. This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the prevalence of MIH and its association with dental caries in schoolchildren from a city in southern Brazil. A random cluster sample of schoolchildren was selected. Clinical examinations were carried out to collect information on MIH (following the European Academy of Pediatric Dentistry criteria), dental caries (using the DMF-T index) and gingivitis. Socioeconomic, demographic and behavior variables were collected using a standardized questionnaire answered by the children's parents/caregivers. Prevalence ratios (PR) were estimated using Poisson regression analysis with robust variance through a hierarchical approach (p<0.05). A total of 513 schoolchildren were included in the study. MIH and caries prevalence was 19.7% and 31.6%, respectively. The mean age was 11.6 (+1.9) years. Dental caries was more prevalent in children with MIH (PR 1.39; 95% CI 1.05 - 1.85). Older children and children whose families were enrolled in conditional cash transference programs (PR 1.97 95% CI 1.47 - 2.64), and children who did not have their mother or father as the head of the family (PR 1.56 95% CI 1.06 - 2.30) presented a higher prevalence of dental caries. Our findings suggest that children with MIH are more likely to have dental caries.

Sazonalidade climática e doenças das vias respiratórias inferiores: utilização de modelo preditor de hospitalizações pediátricas

RESUMO Objetivos: analisar a sazonalidade climática das doenças respiratórias em crianças de 0 a 9 anos e apresentar um modelo para previsão de internações hospitalares para os anos de 2021 a 2022. Métodos: propôs-se verificar, de maneira temporal, a correlação de internações para pneumonia, bronquite/bronquiolite e asma com variáveis meteorológicas, visando verificar a sazonalidade com o ajuste de modelos de séries temporais. Resultados: percebeu-se, para todas as enfermidades, o efeito sazonal no número de casos registrados, com o maior número de registros nos meses de outono e inverno. Conclusões: foi possível constatar uma tendência de diminuição no registro de casos de pneumonia; já para os casos de internações por bronquite e bronquiolite, observou-se uma leve tendência de aumento; e, em relação as taxas de ocorrência de asma, não houve variação.