Body image satisfaction and subjective wellbeing among ninth-grade students attending state schools in Canoas, Brazil.

During adolescence, body image is linked to subjective well-being. This study aimed to identify variables related to overall well-being (life satisfaction, health perception, happiness, and optimism) that discriminate between teenagers who are satisfied with body image and those who are dissatisfied. A cross-sectional, school- based study was conducted involving a sample of 1,460 ninth-grade students attending state schools in Canoas in the State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil.

Relationship between Sense of Coherence and oral health in adults and elderly Brazilians.

The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship between Sense of Coherence (SOC) and oral health clinical variables (number of teeth present and absence of need for dental prostheses). The sample consisted of 720 adults and elderly Brazilians. The data were collected at home using the SOC-13 scale - a form of clinical examination for the evaluation of oral conditions - and a questionnaire evaluating socioeconomic aspects and the use of dental services.

Factors related to the use of dental services among adolescents from Gravataí, RS, Brazil, in 2005.

Introduction: Access to health services, including those for oral health, depends upon socioeconomic, environmental and individual factors. Moreover, cultural and lifestyle differences also influence the degree to which services are sought.

Objective: This study aimed to assess factors associated with the use of dental services among adolescents in the 7th grade of public primary schools from the city of Gravataí, RS, Brazil, in 2005.

Family psychosocial characteristics, tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use, and teenage pregnancy.

The aim of this study was to analyze associations between demographic factors, family psychosocial characteristics, tobacco, alcohol, and other drug use, and adolescent motherhood. This was a case-control study in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, with 431 adolescents 14 to 16 years of age who gave birth in 2009 (cases) and 862 adolescents who had never given birth (controls). Three-stage hierarchical logistic regression was performed (demographic, family psychosocial, and lifestyle variables).

[Burnout Syndrome: population-based study on public servants].

Objective: To identify predictors of burnout syndrome among workers in the public sector.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with a representative sample consisting of 879 municipal civil servants in a city of the metropolitan region of Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. In order to measure the demographic variables and related characteristics of work we used a questionnaire developed for this purpose.

[Epidemiologic profile of human anti-rabies treatment in Porto Alegre, RS, brazil].

Animal bites are injuries that carry the risk of rabies transmission, a disease with a 100% mortality rate. The purpose of this study was to determine the epidemiologic profiles of post exposure human anti-rabies treatments and to analyze whether prescriptions were appropriate. This cross-sectional study collected data from the forms of the Brazilian Notification System (Sistema Nacional Agravos de Notificação - SINAN), which were filled out by the professionals responsible for treatment in healthcare services in the second semester of 2006.

[Abandon reasons of post-exposure human anti-rabies treatment in Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil)].

In Brazil, rabies is an endemic disease with a fatality rate of 100%. The number of cases has decreased, but the number of cases for treatment after exposure and treatment dropout is still high. This study investigated the causes of anti-rabies treatment abandon, after exposure, in Porto Alegre (RS, Brazil), from July to December 2006.

[Health education practices and Family Health Strategy].

This study evaluated health education, and particularly popular health education, as a methodological approach used in the Brazilian basic healthcare network and in the Family Health Strategy, a family health program of the Brazilian government. The literature on health education, educational practices in healthcare services, and popular health education was reviewed. We found that educational practices in healthcare services follow traditional methods and do not prioritize the establishment of links between healthcare workers and the population.

[Accuracy of the Mortality Information System team in the specification of underlying cause of death in a State capital in southern Brazil].

This cross-sectional study aimed to investigate the quality of data on underlying cause of death as completed on the death certificate by the attending physician, as well as the accuracy of the Mortality Information System (MIS) team in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, in specification of the cause. 950 hospital deaths were investigated, using systematic sampling. A new death certificate (DC) was completed with data collected from hospital files, and was compared to the original DC and the MIS DC for underlying cause of death.

Child sexual abuse in southern Brazil and associated factors: a population-based study.

Background: The prevalence of child sexual abuse (CSA) in the population has been poorly described in developing countries. Population data on child sexual abuse in Brazil is very limited. This paper aims to estimate lifetime prevalence of child sexual abuse and associated factors in a representative sample of the population aged 14 and over in a city of southern Brazil.

[Factors associated with oral health habits and use of dental services by adolescents].

This was a cross-sectional study of 1,170 seventh-grade adolescents from the municipal public school system in Gravataí, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, investigating the association between socio-demographic, psychosocial, and lifestyle factors and oral health habits and use of dental services. Data were analyzed by Cox regression, modified for cross-sectional studies. Females showed higher frequency of brushing, as did adolescents that reported not feeling alone or discriminated.

[Feelings of discrimination among students: prevalence and associated factors].

Objective: To estimate the prevalence of and factors associated with feelings of discrimination among students.

Methods: Cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 1,170 students from a total of 2,282 students enrolled in the 7th grade of an elementary school of the city of Gravataí, Southern Brazil, in 2005. Participants were selected by conglomerate random sampling.

[Alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use by teenage students in a city in Southern Brazil].

This study analyzes alcohol, tobacco, and other drug use by seventh-graders in municipal schools in the city of Gravataí, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil, and associated factors. A cross-sectional school survey was conducted in a representative random sample of 1,170 seventh-graders from municipal schools. The bivariate Cox regression model, modified for cross-sectional studies, was used to evaluate associations between specific factors and outcomes.

[Oral hygiene habits and use of dental services among teenage students in a city in southern Brazil].

This study evaluated oral hygiene habits and use of dental services among teenage students, and analyzed their association with sociodemographic factors and life styles. This cross-sectional study included a representative sample of 1,170 seventh-graders from municipal public schools of Gravataí, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. The Cox regression model for univariate analysis, modified for cross-sectional studies, was used to analyze the association between variables.

Risk factors for sudden infant death syndrome in a developing country.

Objective: To analyze whether previously identified risk factors for sudden death syndrome have a significant impact in a developing country.

Methods: Retrospective longitudinal case-control study carried out in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil. Cases (N=39) were infants born between 1996 and 2000 who died suddenly and unexpectedly at home during sleep and were diagnosed with sudden death syndrome.

[Avoidable infant mortality and associated factors in Porto Alegre, Southern Brazil, 2000-2003].

A case-control study was performed to investigate the association between the categories avoidable and non-avoidable death and socio-demographic, maternal reproductive, and neonatal status. The study used multivariate logistic regression according to a hierarchical model to analyze 1,139 infant deaths from 2000 to 2003. The variables sex, maternal age, number of live born infants, type of pregnancy, place of birth, and 5-minute Apgar were not associated with avoidable deaths.

Intake of water, herbal teas and non-breast milks during the first month of life: associated factors and impact on breastfeeding duration.

Background: The use of non-breast milks seems to cause more harm to the child's health than the isolated introduction of water/herbal teas.

Aims: Study the factors associated with introduction of water/herbal teas or non-breast milks during the first month of life and determine the impact of this supplementation on breastfeeding duration.

Study Design: Nested cross-sectional study.

[Prevalence and factors associated with hospital admissions in a population-based study in a southern Brazilian city].

This cross-sectional study investigates the use of health services and associated factors in individuals > or = 14 years of age in Canoas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. 1,954 persons were interviewed in 40 census tracts. One-year prevalence of hospital admissions was 9.

Sleep practices and sudden infant death syndrome: a new proposal for scoring risk factors.

Study Objectives: To evaluate sleep practices regarding maternal, infant, and socioeconomic factors in an infant population and to propose a scoring scale associated with high versus low risk of sudden infant death syndrome.

Design: Cross-sectional, population-based study.

Setting: Passo Fundo, Brazil.

[Sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of hearing complaints].

This study assessed the sensitivity, specificity and predictive value of hearing complaints in outpatients attending an university ear, nose and throat clinic. A cross-sectional study was carried out in Canoas, Southern Brazil, from 1999 to 2002. Seven-hundred and ninety-five subjects who underwent the audiometric test were analyzed.

[Nutritional status surveillance of children in a health district in southern Brazil].

Objective: To investigate the nutritional status of children referred by a primary care center to the Nutritional Surveillance Program (Prá-Crescer), and to follow up children at risk in a health district of Porto Alegre.

Methods: A retrospective cohort study was conducted with 674 children, aged between 6 and 59 months, referred to the Prá-Crescer Program. Height-for-age, weight-for-height and weight-for-age indices were used to evaluate nutritional status.

[Adolescent homicide victims in Southern Brazil: situations of vulnerability as reported by families].

This study focused on homicide deaths of adolescents (ages 10 to 19 years) in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 1997. Data were obtained from the Mortality Information System (SIM) of the Municipal Health Department. Families were visited at the addresses found on death certificates and were interviewed by two researchers.

[Pediatric injuries at home].

Physical trauma occurred at home with children from zero to six years of age is a descriptive study outlining an epidemiologic case series that aims at characterising trauma and the situations in which it occurs. Subjects were 120 individuals legally responsible for hospitalized children of the mentioned age in the second semester of 2002. The study detected the necessity of implanting an information system in ambulatory care units and hospitals in order to get knowledge about several relevant variables, as sorts, frequency, circumstances and causes for the traumas.

Determinants of growth retardation in Southern Brazil.

A cross-sectional population-based study of determinants of growth retardation in under-five children (3,389) in the city of Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil estimated odds ratios (OR) for stunting, defined as height-for-age < -2 zeta-scores of the NCHS standards. Hierarchical modeling based on a framework of the process of stunting was used. Stunting prevalence was 6.