Patellofemoral pain syndrome in children and adolescents: A cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVES

To assess the prevalence and associated factors of Patellofemoral Pain Syndrome (PFPS) in children and adolescents.

METHOD

A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted with children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years, who presented a history of peripatellar and/or retropatellar pain, attending elementary or high school in urban public schools in Natal, Brazil. The sample size was calculated based on a minimum outcome prevalence of 22%.

RESULTS

A prevalence of 24.7% of PFPS was found. There was a positive association of PFPS with active students (p < 0.01; PR: 2.5; CI: 1.4-4.5), low functional capacity (p < 0.01; PR: 8.0; CI: 5.0-12.8), and those classified as pubertal (p < 0.03; PR: 1.8; CI: 1.0-3.2).

CONCLUSION

There was a considerable prevalence of PFPS in children and adolescents, as well as an association between the level of sexual maturation and adjustable determinants, such as the level of physical activity and low functional capacity in this group.

Sexual dysfunction in women with breast cancer of Northeast Brazil: a retrospective longitudinal study

Breast cancer treatment leads to physical and psychological changes. The aim of this study was to analyze the incidence of sexual dysfunction and its risk factors in women diagnosed with breast cancer. This retrospective cohort study included women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer (exposed group, n = 90) and healthy women (non-exposed group, n = 93). Data were collected from February 2019 to October 2021 in the state of Rio Grande do Norte (Northeast Brazil), from medical records and using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Data were collected from medical records and using the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI) questionnaire. Primary outcomes were analyzed using binary logistic regression. The Mann-Whitney test was used to analyze FSFI domains between groups. The exposed group had a 74% incidence of sexual dysfunction and 3.9 times increased chances of having sexual dysfunction compared with the non-exposed group (OR 3.9, CI 1.8 to 8.2, p < 0.001). Presence of comorbidities increased the chances of sexual dysfunction by 2.5 times (OR 2.5, CI 1.2 to 4.9, p = 0.009). Women diagnosed and treated for breast cancer had a higher incidence of sexual dysfunction than healthy women. Furthermore, comorbidities also increased the chances of sexual dysfunction regardless of exposure to breast cancer.

Sexual Dysfunction in Women with Cancer: A Systematic Review of Longitudinal Studies

BACKGROUND

Several factors affect sexual function, including cancer development and treatment. This study summarized the risk of women with cancer of developing sexual dysfunctions.

METHODS

This systematic review was conducted according to the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA). We searched the EMBASE, PubMed, LILACS, SciELO, CINAHL, Scopus, and Web of Science databases using the descriptors cancer, neoplasms, sexual dysfunction, sexual function, and women. The Quality Assessment Tool for Observational Cohort and Cross-Sectional Studies assessed the quality of studies.

RESULTS

Sixteen studies were included in this review. Women with cancer presented sexual dysfunctions in 14 out of 16 included studies. The incidence of sexual dysfunctions ranged from 30% to 80%, while the risk of developing sexual dysfunction increased 2.7- and 3.5-fold in women with cervical and breast cancer, respectively.

CONCLUSION

Different cancer treatments increase the risk of developing sexual dysfunction in women, especially desire, arousal, and orgasm, leading to biopsychosocial changes in the health of this population.

Dissemination of COVID-19 in inland cities of Northeastern Brazil

BACKGROUND

SARS-CoV-2 causes the new coronavirus disease (COVID-19) and it is weakening all health systems. Therefore, the most vulnerable populations are exposed to harmful consequences, such as illness and death. Thus, this study aims to estimate the temporal effect of COVID-19 dissemination on social indicators of the Northeastern region of Brazil.

METHODS

An ecological time-series study was developed with the following: diagnosed cases of COVID-19 in the largest inland cities of Northeast Brazil, Human Development Index (HDI), poverty incidence, and Gini coefficient. Cities with high HDI, poverty rate, and Gini presented a larger number of patients.

RESULTS

It was observed by evaluating case trends that COVID-19 spreads unevenly in inland cities of the Northeastern region of Brazil.

CONCLUSIONS

In this sense, we emphasize that regional health managers should support small cities with vulnerable population and social assistance.

Urinary Incontinence in Physically Active Older Women of Northeast Brazil

Low- and moderate-impact physical activity (PA) is associated with the prevention of urinary incontinence (UI). The objective of the cross-sectional study presented herein is to analyze the factors associated with UI in physically older active women who participate in senior community groups. The variable UI was measured by the International Consultation Incontinence Questionnaire Short Form (ICIQ-SF). Socioeconomic variables were also collected, along with data on life habits and clinical history. The multivariate analysis employed Poisson's Regression with robust variance for factors associated with UI. Of the 106 participants evaluated, 54.7% presented UI, of which stress incontinence was more frequent, with 40.6%. UI presented a statistically significant association with dizziness/loss of balance during Activities of Daily Living (ADL) (prevalence ratio-PR 1.48; 95% CI 1.06-2.07) and nocturia (PR 1.63; 95% CI 1.05-2.55). Despite PA being a protection factor, UI presented an elevated prevalence in the older population, and therefore, other biological, social, and cultural aspects could also contribute to the occurrence of UI in this age group. Moreover, physically active older women with UI presented nocturia and dizziness/loss of balance during ADL, regardless of education levels and the number of births. These findings can help improve multi-professional programs aimed at promoting, preventing, and managing UI in the public.

Social support in the healthcare of women submitted to breast cancer treatment

This study aimed to verify the prevalence of low social support (LSS) and associated factors in women submitted to breast cancer (BC) treatment. A cross-sectional study was carried out with 101 female residents of the municipality of Natal (Northeast Brazil), diagnosed with BC and submitted to oncological treatment. Data collection took place between July/2015 and May/2016 from medical records and individuals' interviews, and from the Medical Outcome Study-Social Support Survey. Descriptive, bivariate and multivariate statistics were carried out through Poisson's regression with robust variance and significance level 0.05. Prevalence of LSS in women with BC was 22.8% with confidence interval 14.6-39.94. Type of access to public services (p < .03), prevalence ratio (PR) 1.84 and negative self-rated health (p < .001), PR 4.47 were associated with LSS. These results were obtained after adjustments by the variables age and presence of chronic diseases. The associations established herein could have been mostly related to fragilities of the Brazilian health system, and can contribute to the planning of actions directed to the studied population.

Validade e acurácia do Guedes Tool para avaliar o apoio social informal para idosos

Resumo Os objetivos foram confirmar a validade do Guedes Tool, instrumento para avaliação do apoio social informal (ASI) para idosos, e estimar sua acurácia. Foi realizada análise fatorial confirmatória (AFC) com avaliação dos índices CFI, RMSEA e relação do qui-quadrado (X2) com graus de liberdade (gl). Para análise de acurácia foi verificada a área sob a curva ROC, valores de sensibilidade (S), especificidade (E), valor preditivo positivo (VP+), valor preditivo negativo (VP-) e o Índice J de Younder (J) para confirmar o melhor ponto de corte. A coleta de dados ocorreu com idosos de Natal e região metropolitana em 2018. Os critérios de inclusão foram: ter 60 anos ou mais, com níveis cognitivos preservados. Duzentos e seis idosos participaram do estudo de AFC e 197 participaram da análise de acurácia. As estimativas dos índices avaliados na AFC foram: X2/gl=1,33, RMSEA=0,04 (IC95% 0,025-0,054) e CFI=0,91. A curva ROC obteve área de 0,78 (IC95: 0,72-0,85; p<0,001) para a determinação de idosos com baixo ASI. O J de maior valor foi de 0,44 para pontuação ≤34, o qual tem uma S de 59,76% e E de 84,96%. O instrumento apresentou um modelo bem ajustado com quatro dimensões, segundo critérios da AFC. Apresentou boa área sob a curva ROC e boa E e S moderada para o valor de corte de 34 pontos ou menos para o diagnóstico do ASI insuficiente. Os bons indicadores de VP+ e VP- reforçaram sua acurácia desejável.

Validation of a questionnaire for the evaluation of informal social support for the elderly: section 2

Abstract Objective: The objective of the study was to carry out the factorial validation of the questionnaire for the evaluation of informal social support (ASI) for the elderly. Method: It is a descriptive, observational, quantitative type research. It was executed between August and December of 2016 in the municipality of Natal, Rio Grande do Norte and other locations in Brazil. In Inclusion criteria, were have age 60 or older and cognitive ability preserved. We performed Exploratory Factor Analysis (AFE). As criterion of exclusion of the items was adopted a reference value greater than or equal to 0.35 of factorial load and greater or equal to 0.5 of commonality per item. To determine the amount of retained factors, the criteria of own values>1, minimum cumulative explained variance of 60% and parallel Horn analysis were observed. Results: A sample of 259 elderly people from the five regions of Brazil was obtained. After AFE, 4 items were excluded due to the poverty of their factorial loads, remaining 20 items in 4 retained factors. Conclusion: The instrument has good psychometric properties, such as acceptable factor loads and excellent commonalities.

Validation of a questionnaire for the evaluation of informal social support for the elderly: section 1

Abstract Objectives: to construct and carry out content (CV) and response process (RPV) validation for a questionnaire to assess informal social support for the elderly. Method: a descriptive, observational, quantitative study was performed between January and December 2016 in the city of Natal (Rio Grande do Norte) and other locations in Brazil. The inclusion criteria were: proven experience in the area of social support (for experts) or 60 years of age or older and with preserved cognitive status (for the elderly). The CV stage evaluated the relevance of the items according to the general Content Validity Index (CVI) and per item as well as the assembly of the panel based on the observations of the experts. In the RPV stage, the understanding of the items by the target audience was evaluated. Results: the CV stage included a total of 40 interviewees. The overall CVI was 0.88 and only one item had a CVI considered poor. In the RPV stage 41 people were interviewed. Conclusion: the questionnaire exhibited good relevance for the proposed items and the observations of the interviewees allowed an approximation of the language used in the instrument to the language of the elderly.

Body Image of Women Submitted to Breast Cancer Treatment

Background: The study of body image includes the perception of women regarding the physical appearance of their own body. The objective of the present study was to verify the prevalence of body image dissatisfaction and its associated factors in women submitted to breast cancer treatment. Methods: A cross-sectional study carried out with 103 female residents of the municipality of Natal (Northeast Brazil), diagnosed with breast cancer who had undergone cancer treatment for at least 12 months prior to the study, and remained under clinical monitoring. The variable body image was measured through the validated Body Image Scale (BIS). Socioeconomic variables and clinical history were also collected through an individual interview with each participant. The Pearson’s chi-squared test (Fisher’s Exact) was utilized for bivariate analysis, calculating the prevalence ratio with 95% confidence interval. Poisson regression with robust variance was utilized for multivariate analysis. The statistical significance considered was 0.05. Results: The prevalence of body image dissatisfaction was 74.8% CI (65%-82%). Statistically significant associations were observed between body image and multi-professional follow-up (p=0.009) and return to employment after treatment (p=0.022). Conclusion: It was concluded that women who reported employment after cancer treatment presented more alterations in self-perception concerning their appearance. Patients who did not receive multi-professional follow-up reported negative body image, evidencing the need for strategies that increase and improve healthcare, aiming to meet the demands of this population.

Functional Disability in Women Submitted to Breast Cancer Treatment

The objective of the study presented herein was to verify the prevalence of functional disability and its associated factors in women submitted to breast cancer treatment. A cross-sectional study was carried out, in 101 women diagnosed with malignant breast cancer neoplasm, who underwent cancer treatment at least 12 months before the study, and remained under clinical monitoring. Functional disability was measured by the DASH instrument. Data collection included variables related to socioeconomic characteristics, life habits, health conditions, clinical tumor characteristics and therapeutic approach. Bivariate analysis was carried out by Pearson’s chi-square test or Fisher’s exact test, calculating the prevalence ratio with a 95% confidence interval. Multivariate analysis utilized Poisson’s Regression with robust variance. A statistical significance of 0.05 was considered. Prevalence of functional disability in the studied sample was 22.8% (CI95% 13.9-31.6). Functional disability was statistically significantly associated with age (p = 0.035) and access to health services (p = 0.028). It was concluded that younger patients suffered higher impact of breast cancer treatment on disability. Regarding access to health services, women that received public clinical monitoring reported higher occurrences of functional disability. This pointed towards the necessity of more organized, less bureaucratic, and effective health services in the assistance network, directed to the minimization of the impacts of cancer treatment on health and life conditions of breast cancer survivors.

Validation of the two minute step test for diagnosis of the functional capacity of hypertensive elderly persons

Objectives : To analyze the accuracy of the 2 minute step test in the diagnosis of the normal functional capacity (FC) of hypertensive elderly individuals or hypertensive elderly individuals with other associated chronic conditions (ACC). Methods : An observational diagnosis type study of 101 subjects, 41 of whom were hypertensive and 60 of whom were normotensive, was carried out. Receiver Operating Characteristic curves (ROC) were constructed based on the normal FC variable. Results : For hypertensive patients, the 2MST, with an under the ROC curve area of 0.7 (95% CI: 0.50 to 0.87, p = 0.04), proved to be accurate at diagnosing FC. Among hypertensive individuals with an elevation of 69, sensitivity of 80% and specificity of 54% were observed. The 2MST was accurate at predicting normal FC among hypertensive patients with ACC, with an under the ROC curve area of 0.88 (95% CI: 0.69 to 1.00, p= 0.02). With an elevation of 65 the sensitivity was 83% and the specificity was 67%. Conclusions : The 2MST revealed good sensitivity and specificity when assessing the FC of elderly hypertensive individuals and elderly hypertensive patients with ACC, which was not the case among normotensive elderly persons.