Maternal and perinatal health indicators in Brazil over a decade: assessing the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination through interrupted time series analysis.

Background: Few studies have evaluated the effects of the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic, caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus, on maternal and perinatal health at a populational level. We investigated maternal and perinatal health indicators in Brazil, focusing on the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, and SARS-CoV-2 vaccination campaign for pregnant women.

Methods: Utilizing interrupted time series analysis (January 2013-December 2022), we examined Maternal Mortality Ratio, Perinatal Mortality Rate, Preterm Birth Rate, Cesarean Section Rate, and other five indicators.

Estimation and probabilistic projection of age- and sex-specific mortality rates across Brazilian municipalities between 2010 and 2030.

Background: Mortality rate estimation in small areas can be difficult due the low number of events/exposure (i.e. stochastic error).

Social Inequalities in Child Development: Analysis of Low-Birth-Weight Trends in Brazil, 2010-2020.

Introduction: Low birth weight (LBW) is a global issue prevalent in low-income countries. Economic assessments of interventions to reduce this burden are crucial to guide health policies. However, there is a relative scarcity of research that illustrates the magnitude of LBW by country and region to support the design of public policies.

Factors associated with unsuccessful tuberculosis treatment among homeless persons in Brazil: A retrospective cohort study from 2015 to 2020.

Background: Tuberculosis (TB) is a preventable and a curable disease. In Brazil, TB treatment outcomes are particularly worse among homeless populations who are either of black race, malnourished or living with HIV/AIDS and other comorbidities. This study therefore evaluated factors associated with unsuccessful TB treatment among homeless population (HP) compared to those with shelter.

Association between food environments and fetal growth in pregnant Brazilian women.

Introduction: Birth weight is described as one of the main determinants of newborns' chances of survival. Among the associated causes, or risk factors, the mother's nutritional status strongly influences fetal growth and birth weight outcomes of the concept. This study evaluates the association between food deserts, small for gestational age (SGA), large for gestational age (LGA) and low birth weight (LBW) newborns.

Subsidised housing and diabetes mortality: a retrospective cohort study of 10 million low-income adults in Brazil.

Introduction: Housing-related factors can be predictors of health, including of diabetes outcomes. We analysed the association between subsidised housing residency and diabetes mortality among a large cohort of low-income adults in Brazil.

Research Design And Methods: A cohort of 9 961 271 low-income adults, observed from January 2010 to December 2015, was created from Brazilian administrative records of social programmes and death certificates.

Fetal death as an outcome of acute respiratory distress in pregnancy, during the COVID-19 pandemic: a population-based cohort study in Bahia, Brazil.

Background: Fetal loss is one of the most serious adverse outcomes of pregnancy. Since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Brazil has recorded an unprecedented number of hospitalizations of pregnant women due to acute respiratory distress (ARD), thereby, we aimed to assess the risk of fetal deaths associated to ARD during pregnancy in Bahia state, Brazil, in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: This is an observational population-based retrospective cohort study, developed with women at or after 20 weeks of pregnancy, residents in Bahia, Brazil.

Differentials in death count records by databases in Brazil in 2010.

Objective: To compare the death counts from three sources of information on mortality available in Brazil in 2010, the Mortality Information System (SIM - Sistema de Informações sobre Mortalidade ), Civil Registration Statistic System (RC - Sistema de Estatísticas de Resgistro Civil ), and the 2010 Demographic Census at various geographical levels, and to confirm the association between municipal socioeconomic characteristics and the source which showed the highest death count.

Methods: This is a descriptive and comparative study of raw data on deaths in the SIM, RC and 2010 Census databases, the latter held in Brazilian states and municipalities between August 2009 and July 2010. The percentage of municipalities was confirmed by the database showing the highest death count.

Integrating real-world data from Brazil and Pakistan into the OMOP common data model and standardized health analytics framework to characterize COVID-19 in the Global South.

Objectives: The aim of this work is to demonstrate the use of a standardized health informatics framework to generate reliable and reproducible real-world evidence from Latin America and South Asia towards characterizing coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) in the Global South.

Materials And Methods: Patient-level COVID-19 records collected in a patient self-reported notification system, hospital in-patient and out-patient records, and community diagnostic labs were harmonized to the Observational Medical Outcomes Partnership common data model and analyzed using a federated network analytics framework. Clinical characteristics of individuals tested for, diagnosed with or tested positive for, hospitalized with, admitted to intensive care unit with, or dying with COVID-19 were estimated.

Mortality inequalities measured by socioeconomic indicators in Brazil: a scoping review.

Objective: Summarize the literature on the relationship between composite socioeconomic indicators and mortality in different geographical areas of Brazil.

Methods: This scoping review included articles published between January 1, 2000, and August 31, 2020, retrieved by means of a bibliographic search carried out in the Medline, Scopus, Web of Science, and Lilacs databases. Studies reporting on the association between composite socioeconomic indicators and all-cause, or specific cause of death in any age group in different geographical areas were selected.

Vaccine effectiveness of heterologous CoronaVac plus BNT162b2 in Brazil.

There is considerable interest in the waning of effectiveness of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) vaccines and vaccine effectiveness (VE) of booster doses. Using linked national Brazilian databases, we undertook a test-negative design study involving almost 14 million people (~16 million tests) to estimate VE of CoronaVac over time and VE of BNT162b2 booster vaccination against RT-PCR-confirmed severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) infection and severe COVID-19 outcomes (hospitalization or death). Compared with unvaccinated individuals, CoronaVac VE at 14-30 d after the second dose was 55.

Influence of age on the effectiveness and duration of protection of Vaxzevria and CoronaVac vaccines: A population-based study.

Background: Aging influences COVID-19 severity and response to vaccination, but previous vaccine effectiveness (VE) analyzes lack the power to evaluate its role in subgroups within the elderly age group. Here we analyzed the impact of age on viral vector and inactivated virus vaccines' effectiveness, the main platforms used in low- and middle-income countries.

Methods: We report a retrospective longitudinal study of 75,919,840 Brazilian vaccinees from January 18 to July 24, 2021, evaluating documented infection with severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), COVID-19-related hospitalisation, ICU admission, and death.

Two-dose ChAdOx1 nCoV-19 vaccine protection against COVID-19 hospital admissions and deaths over time: a retrospective, population-based cohort study in Scotland and Brazil.

Background: Reports suggest that COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness is decreasing, but whether this reflects waning or new SARS-CoV-2 variants-especially delta (B.1.617.

Methods to evaluate COVID-19 vaccine effectiveness, with an emphasis on quasi-experimental approaches.

The evaluation of vaccine effectiveness is conducted with real-world data. They are essential to monitor the performance of vaccination programmes over time, and in the context of the emergence of new variants. Until now, the effectiveness of COVID-19 vaccines has been assessed based on classic methods, such as cohort and test-negative case-control studies, which may often not allow for adequate control of inherent biases in the assignment of vaccination campaigns.

A fibrinolytic snake venom metalloproteinase, mutalysin-II, with antiplatelet activity and targeting capability toward glycoprotein GPIbα and glycoprotein GPVI.

Glycoprotein (GP)Ib that binds von Willebrand factor (vWF) and glycoprotein (GP)VI, that binds collagen play a significant role in platelet activation and aggregation, and are potential targets for antithrombotic treatment. They are targeted by snake venom proteinases. The effect of a such proteinase, mutalysin-II, on platelet aggregation was examined using washed human platelets and platelet-rich plasma.

Adult body weight trends in 27 urban populations of Brazil from 2006 to 2016: A population-based study.

Objective: We aimed to estimate trends in population-level adult body weight indicators in the 26 state capitals and the Federal District of Brazil.

Methods: Self-reported weight and height data of 572,437 adults were used to estimate the mean body mass index (BMI), and the prevalence of BMI categories ranging from underweight to morbid obesity, in Brazil's state capitals and Federal District, from 2006 to 2016, by sex. All estimates were standardized by age.

Direct Fibrinolytic Snake Venom Metalloproteinases Affecting Hemostasis: Structural, Biochemical Features and Therapeutic Potential.

Snake venom metalloproteinases (SVMPs) are predominant in viperid venoms, which provoke hemorrhage and affect hemostasis and thrombosis. P-I class enzymes consist only of a single metalloproteinase domain. Despite sharing high sequence homology, only some of them induce hemorrhage.