[Assessment of competencies of community health workers for epidemiological data collection].

The scope of this study was to assess competencies in terms of reading, comprehension and problem-solving using educational material created for epidemiological research on people with disabilities. A form with twenty multiple-choice questions was prepared and distributed to a sample of 348 community health workers (CHWs) in the State of Paraíba. The socioeconomic profile revealed that, within the sample, most of these CHWs are female, between 30-49 years of age, married or in a stable relationship, with two children and have graduated from high school.

[Could endogamy explain the higher prevalence of disabilities in the population of the Brazilian Northeast?].

Despite conceptual inaccuracies and methods of measurement, the WHO estimates that about 10% of the world population has some form of disability. In order to investigate the prevalence and etiology of disabilities and to evaluate if they could be associated with inbreeding, a cross-sectional epidemiological study was conducted using the informant method in five communities of the state Rio Grande do Norte in the Brazilian Northeast, in which consanguineous marriages frequencies varied between 9 and 32%. The average prevalence of disabilities in the five sampled communities was 4.

Effect of the yellow passion fruit peel flour (Passiflora edulis f. flavicarpa deg.) in insulin sensitivity in type 2 diabetes mellitus patients.

Background: A study with the yellow passion fruit peel flour showed positive action in blood glucose control as therapies' adjuvant in patients with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Therefore, we evaluated its effect on insulin sensitivity since there is a quest for studies that focus at better understanding of insulin resistance aspects in diabetic patients. Furthermore its relationship with chronic complications can also give good prospects for alternative treatments.