[Prevalence of metabolic syndrome in pubertal stages of female students].

Objective To analyze the prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MS) in pubertal stages of female students. Methods Cross-sectional study of 449 school children between eight and 18 years, stratified by pubertal stage, body mass index (BMI) and body fat percentage (BF %). The MS was classified according to the International Diabetes Federation.

[Nutritional status of elderly Brazilians: a multilevel approach].

The objectives of this study were to diagnose the nutritional status of the elderly Brazilian population and to identify associated factors. The study used data from the Brazilian Household Budget Survey (2008/2009) for 20,114 elderly, whose nutritional status was assessed by body mass index (BMI). Associated factors were tested with the Pearson chi-square test and multilevel linear models.

Physical activity, fatigue and quality of life in breast cancer patients.

Objective: to evaluate the relationship between levels of physical activity, fatigue and quality of life (QOL) in women diagnosed with breast cancer.

Methods: 215 women between the ages of 40 and 65 years were recruited at a cancer clinic. Physical activity levels were assessed by using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), fatigue levels by using the revised Piper scale, and QOL by means of EORTC QLQ-C30 and WHOQOL-Bref.

Clustering of risk factors for cardiometabolic diseases in low-income, female adolescents.

Objective: To assess the prevalence and clustering patterns of cardiometabolic risk factors among low-income, female adolescents.

Materials And Methods: Cross-sectional study involving 196 students of public schools (11-19 years old). The following risk factors were considered in the analysis: excess weight, central obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose.

Physical activity and sexual function in middle-aged women.

Objective: To investigate the relationship between physical activity level and sexual function in middle-aged women.

Methods: A cross-sectional study with a sample of 370 middle-aged women (40-65 years old), treated at public health care facilities in a Brazilian city. A questionnaire was used containing enquiries on sociodemographic, clinical and behavioral characteristics: the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), short form, and the Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI).

The adaptive value of primate color vision for predator detection.

The complex evolution of primate color vision has puzzled biologists for decades. Primates are the only eutherian mammals that evolved an enhanced capacity for discriminating colors in the green-red part of the spectrum (trichromatism). However, while Old World primates present three types of cone pigments and are routinely trichromatic, most New World primates exhibit a color vision polymorphism, characterized by the occurrence of trichromatic and dichromatic females and obligatory dichromatic males.

Determinants of sexual dysfunction among middle-aged women.

Objective: To assess the determinants of sexual dysfunction among middle-aged women.

Methods: In a cross-sectional, questionnaire-based study of middle-aged women (aged 40-65 years) attending a public healthcare facility in Natal, Brazil, data on sociodemographic, clinical, and behavioral characteristics were collected between May and October 2011. The Female Sexual Function Index (FSFI), Blatt-Kupperman Menopausal Index (BKMI), International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ), and WHO quality of life questionnaire (WHOQOL-Bref) were used to collect data, which were analyzed by relative frequency and percentage of variables, followed by Pearson χ(2) test and logistic regression analysis.

The impact of physical activity on menopausal symptoms in middle-aged women.

Objective: To evaluate the influence of physical activity on climacteric symptoms among middle-aged women in Brazil.

Methods: A population-based sample of women aged 40-65 years was recruited from Natal, Brazil. Enrollment took place in basic health units in each health district of the city from June to September 2011.

[Impact of physical activity on quality of life in middle-aged women: a population based study].

Purpose: To evaluate the influence of physical activity on the quality of life of middle-aged women.

Methods: A population-based cross-sectional study was conducted on 370 women aged 40 to 65 years-old recruited from a population-based sample. Enrollment took place in Basic Health Units in each health district of the city (North, South, East, and West) from June to September 2011.

[The meaning of health in sexual relations according to women treated under the Unified National Health System in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte State, Brazil].

The aim of this article is to discuss the social representations of "health in sexual relations" as reported by women treated under the Unified National Health System (SUS) in Natal, Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. A total of 150 women were tested using the free word recall test, with "health in sexual relations" as the stimulus. Women were also asked about their sources of information on the subject.

Possible organizational effect of sex steroids on the stabilization of manual preference in female common marmosets (Callithrix jacchus).

Handedness has been widely studied in nonhuman primates. However, few studies investigate this behavior throughout ontogenetic development. To determine the influence of developmental stage in common marmoset (Callithrix jacchus) females, we used six animals, which were observed in food-reaching tests involving hand-use preference from the infantile to the adult phase.

Evaluation of the ability of a Latin-American gestational weight curve to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes.

Objective: To assess the accuracy of a Latin-American curve used to predict adverse pregnancy outcomes such as low birth weight (LBW), small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA).

Methods: More than 23000 body mass index (BMI) measurements from 4540 pregnant women participating in a prospective cohort study conducted in 6 Brazilian capitals were analyzed in their relationship to LBW, SGA, LGA, and macrosomia. Analyses were based on receiver operating characteristic curves and models for repeated measures.

[Factors accountable for macrosomia incidence in a study with mothers and progeny attended at a Basic Unity of Health in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil].

Purpose: to investigate factors accountable for macrosomia incidence in a study with mothers and progeny attended at a Basic Unity of Health in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

Methods: a prospective study, with 195 pairs of mothers and progeny, in which the dependent variable was macrosomia (weight at delivery > or =4,000 g -- independent of the gestational age or of other demographic variables), and socioeconomic, previous pregnancies/gestation course, biochemical, behavioral and anthropometric, the independent variables. Statistical analysis has been done by multiple logistic regression.

Determinants of weight gain in pregnant women attending a public prenatal care facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: a prospective study, 2005-2007.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the determinants of weight gain during pregnancy. The study adopted a prospective cohort design with four follow-up waves and included a sample of 255 pregnant women that received prenatal care at a public health care facility in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. A mixed-effects linear longitudinal regression model was used, having as the dependent variable the weight assessed in four follow-up waves, and as independent variables: demographic, socioeconomic, reproductive, behavioral, and nutritional data.

Effect of predominant breastfeeding duration on infant growth: a prospective study using nonlinear mixed effect models.

Objective: The aim of this study is to assess the effect of predominant breastfeeding duration on infant growth by means of repeated measurements model.

Methods: This prospective study is comprised of four follow-up evaluations at approximately 0.5, 2, 6 and 9 months after birth, including structured interviews that simultaneously gathered information regarding infant growth and breastfeeding practices.

[Breastfeeding practices and infant growth: a longitudinal study in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, 1999/2001].

Various studies have shown significant differences in growth patterns between breastfed and formula-fed infants. This paper aims to evaluate the effect of predominant breastfeeding duration on anthropometric profile and to detect determinants associated with growth in Brazilian infants. Four hundred and seventy nine infants were studied in a health center in Rio de Janeiro through a longitudinal study with four follow-up waves at 0.