Do social protection programmes affect the burden of breast and cervical cancer? A systematic review.

Background: Socioeconomic conditions are strongly associated with breast and cervical cancer incidence and mortality patterns; therefore, social protection programmes (SPPs) might impact these cancers. This study aimed to evaluate the effect of SPPs on breast and cervical cancer outcomes and their risk/protective factors.

Methods: Five databases were searched for articles that assessed participation in PPS and the incidence, survival, mortality (primary outcomes), screening, staging at diagnosis and risk/protective factors (secondary outcomes) for these cancers.

Effect of hormone therapy on blood pressure and hypertension in postmenopausal women: a systematic review and meta-analysis.

Importance: Menopausal hormone therapy (HT) includes a wide variety of hormonal compounds, and its effect on blood pressure is still uncertain.

Objective: The aim of this study was to assess evidence regarding the effect of HT on blood pressure in postmenopausal women and its association with arterial hypertension.

Evidence Review: This systematic review and meta-analysis included randomized clinical trials and prospective observational studies.

[Body image perception, socioeconomic characteristics, and lifestyle in women participating in ELSA-Brasil in Bahia, Brazil].

Body image distortion is an alteration in the perception of the body that can have repercussions on health. This study aims to estimate the prevalence of body image accuracy and distortion among women participating in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) living in Bahia State, Brazil, and to investigate associations with socioeconomic characteristics, lifestyle, and gynecological care seeking. A total of 609 women aged 50 to 69 years participated in the study, who answered face-to-face questionnaires from 2012 to 2014.

Income Segregation, Conditional Cash Transfers, and Breast Cancer Mortality Among Women in Brazil.

Importance: Women living in income-segregated areas are less likely to receive adequate breast cancer care and access community resources, which may heighten breast cancer mortality risk.

Objective: To investigate the association between income segregation and breast cancer mortality and whether this association is attenuated by receipt of the Bolsa Família program (BFP), the world's largest conditional cash-transfer program.

Design, Setting, And Participants: This cohort study was conducted using data from the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort, which were linked with nationwide mortality registries (2004-2015).

Patterns of metabolic syndrome and associated factors in women from the ELSA-Brasil: a latent class analysis approach.

This study aimed to identify patterns of metabolic syndrome among women and estimate their prevalence and relationship with sociodemographic and biological characteristics. In total, 5,836 women were evaluated using baseline data from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil). Patterns of metabolic syndrome were defined via latent class analysis, using the following metabolic abnormalities as indicators: abdominal obesity, hyperglycemia, hypertension, hypertriglyceridemia, and reduced HDL cholesterol.

The intersection of race/ethnicity and socioeconomic status: inequalities in breast and cervical cancer mortality in 20,665,005 adult women from the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort.

Objectives: There is limited evidence regarding the impact of race/racism and its intersection with socioeconomic status (SES) on breast and cervical cancer, the two most common female cancers globally. We investigated racial inequalities in breast and cervical cancer mortality and whether SES (education and household conditions) interacted with race/ethnicity.

Design: The 100 Million Brazilian Cohort data were linked to the Brazilian Mortality Database, 2004-2015 (n = 20,665,005 adult women).

Hormone therapy and Hypertension in Postmenopausal Women: Results from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Background: Hypertension is a major risk factor for cardiovascular morbidity and mortality in post-menopausal women. Although menopausal hormone therapy (MHT) is a very effective treatment for vasomotor symptoms during this period, the influence of this therapy on blood pressure is not yet clear.

Objective: To evaluate the relationship between the use of MHT and hypertension in participants of the ELSA-Brasil.

Healthy lifestyle behaviors and the periodicity of mammography screening in Brazilian women.

Introduction: Certain behaviors have been associated with health promotion, including mammography screening, in women worldwide.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine whether there is an association between the periodicity of mammography screening and healthy lifestyle behaviors in Brazilian women employed at a public university in Bahia, Brazil.

Methods: A total of 635 women of 50-69 years of age at the time of the interview, from the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health cohort who were resident in Bahia, participated in the study.

Using the Robson classification to assess caesarean section rates in Brazil: an observational study of more than 24 million births from 2011 to 2017.

Background: Applying the Robson classification to all births in Brazil, the objectives of our study were to estimate the rates of caesarean section delivery, assess the extent to which caesarean sections were clinically indicated, and identify variation across socioeconomic groups.

Methods: We conducted a population-based study using routine records of the Live Births Information System in Brazil from January 1, 2011, to December 31, 2017. We calculated the relative size of each Robson group; the caesarean section rate; and the contribution to the overall caesarean section rate.

Abortion and the COVID-19 pandemic: insights for Latin America.

The COVID-19 pandemic may accentuate existing problems, hindering access to legal abortion, with a consequent increase in unsafe abortions. This scenario may be even worse in low- and middle-income countries, especially in Latin America, where abortion laws are already restrictive and access to services is already hampered. Our objective was to understand how different countries, with an emphasis on Latin Americans, have dealt with legal abortion services in the context of the COVID-19.

The effect of laboratory testing on COVID-19 monitoring indicators: an analysis of the 50 countries with the highest number of cases.

Objective: To analyse how testing the population influences the health indicators used to monitor the COVID-19 pandemic in the 50 countries with the highest number of diagnosed cases.

Methods: This was an ecological study using secondary data retrieved on 8/19/2020. Cumulative incidence, mortality rate, case-fatality rate, and proportion of positive tests were calculated.

[Covid-19 in the Northeast of Brazil: from lockdown to the relaxation of social distancing measures].

Even in the period when the Covid-19 pandemic was on the rise in the Northeast of Brazil, the relaxation of social distancing measures was introduced. The scope of the study is to assess, in the light of the epidemiological-sanitary situation in the region, the suitability of relaxation of social distancing measures. Based on the WHO guidelines for relaxation of social distancing, operational indicators were created and analyzed for each guideline in the context of the Northeast.

COVID-19 in Northeast Brazil: achievements and limitations in the responses of the state governments.

The COVID-19 pandemic has been most severe in the poorest regions of Brazil, such as the states of the Northeast Region. The lack of national policies for pandemic control forced state and municipal authorities to implement public health measures. The aim of this study is to show the effect of these measures on the epidemic.

Social distancing measures to control the COVID-19 pandemic: potential impacts and challenges in Brazil.

The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged researchers and policy makers to identify public safety measures forpreventing the collapse of healthcare systems and reducingdeaths. This narrative review summarizes the available evidence on the impact of social distancing measures on the epidemic and discusses the implementation of these measures in Brazil. Articles on the effect of social distancing on COVID-19 were selected from the PubMed, medRXiv and bioRvix databases.

Interobserver reliability in the classification of pairs of records formed by probabilistic linkage of SISMAMA databases.

Introduction: The study assessed interobserver reliability in the classification of record pairs formed during probabilistic linkage of health-related databases, a key step in the methodology validation to be used in a larger on-going study on inequalities in the access to breast and cervical cancer control activities in Brazil (DAAC-SIS).

Methodology: The RecLink software was used to link two databases of the Breast Cancer Control Information System (SISMAMA) in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil: a reference database, which included 301 screening mammograms with probable benign diagnosis (BI-RADS 3 category) recorded in October 2010, and a database comprising 158,517 mammograms registered in 2011. Subsequently, the 215 pairs of records that were not assigned the maximum RecLink score were independently classified as being true or false by ten independent evaluators from four participating centers.

Postmenopausal hormone therapy in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil): who still uses it?

Purpose: We aim to investigate the patterns of hormone therapy (HT) use and associated factors in women participating in the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health.

Methods: This study included 3281 naturally menopausal women of 40 to 74 years of age at enrollment to the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health study, who answered questions regarding their use and discontinuation of HT. Prevalence rates of current and previous HT use were calculated, and a multinomial logistic regression model was constructed to simultaneously analyze the associated factors.

Proposed criteria for the identification of polycystic ovary syndrome following menopause: An ancillary study of the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil).

Objectives: To propose plausible criteria with which to identify menopausal women with PCOS.

Study Design: A cross-sectional study involving the baseline data of 713 menopausal women at admission to the Brazilian Longitudinal Study of Adult Health (ELSA-Brasil) in Salvador, Bahia, Brazil.

Main Outcome Measures: PCOS was identified by the presence of two of three criteria.

A simplified questionnaire for self-assessment of hirsutism in population-based studies.

Objective: The measurement of excess body hair is not straightforward. As the modified Ferriman-Gallwey (mFG) score is unsuitable for self-assessment and requires specialist training, a short, self-administered questionnaire to identify hirsutism was constructed and validated for large-scale application, particularly targeting population-based studies.

Design: A validation study was conducted to assess a new hirsutism questionnaire.

Polycystic ovary syndrome in Salvador, Brazil: a prevalence study in primary healthcare.

Background: Polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS) is a common condition in women of reproductive age. It is characterized by hyperandrogenism, oligomenorrhea/amenorrhea and polycystic ovaries. It is associated with obesity, diabetes, dyslipidemia and cardiovascular disease.