Surgical Site Infection in a University Hospital in Northeast Brazil

We examined prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) in a tertiary teaching hospital in northeast Brazil, from January 1994 to December 2003. The survey included 5,742 patients subjected to thoracic, urologic, vascular and general surgery. The criteria for diagnosing SSI were those of the Centers for Disease Control, USA, and the variables of the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance risk index were used. Data analysis revealed that anesthetic risk scores, wound class and duration of surgery were significantly associated with SSI. A total of 296 SSIs were detected among the 5,742 patients (5.1%). The overall incidence of SSI was 8.8% in 1994; it decreased to 3.3% in 2003. In conclusion, the use of educational strategies, based on guidelines for SSI prevention reduced SSI incidence. Appropriate management of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative incision care, and a surveillance system based on international criteria, were useful in reducing SSI rates in our hospital

Tornar-se professor formador pela experiência formadora: vivências e escritas de si

This thesis describes and analyzes the trajectory of education of an educator-teacher group to become tutor of memorials (final work of the course Normal Superior in Instituto de Educação superior President Kennedy IFESP-Natal-RN). The writing of memorials (self-biographical writing) propitiates to the pupil that writes a reflection on his/her student and professional life, and to whom guides an evolution in his/her professional education. From the methodological point of view, we adopt an etnomethodological perspective of qualitative approach which describes the reality of real citizens inserted in a real situation of education. It is constituted of participants of the research of 32 educator-teachers, deriving of three different areas of academic formation. The instruments of data collection consist of eight life histories, 32 contextualization applications of the participants of the research, interviews with two consultants of the project, as well as some documents. The results of the analyses put in evidence that the education of the educator-teacher goes for two parallel ways: the first deals with the experiences, interactions and elements of daily practice; the second with the academy experiences where the educator-teacher searches the post-graduation courses. The integration of these two ways defines the educator-teacher identity with foundation in knowings that constitute in the exercise of guidance of memorials. The teachers knowings are considered insufficient by the majority and others knowings are mobilized to the knowing to be educator-teacher, memorial tutor. The thesis concludes that the trajectory of the educator-teacher constitutes an educator experience, in the direction of that implies an articulation among the learnings, abilities and knowings, to support the pupil in self-discovery, and that these multiple experiences favor the education of these teachers

Um estudo no contexto da produção textual de um 9° ano do ensino fundamental

Cette recherche s'inscrit dans la linguistique de texte et vise à identifier, décrire, analyser et interpréter les événements de l'anaphore pronominale et de la répétition, exposer le montant et le pourcentage dês phenoménes respectifs dans Le corpus étudiés, que l accent sur le fonctionnement cohérente de ces phénomènes dans la construction du texte en termes de continuité et de progression thématique. Nous avons utilisé des procédures ethnographiques pour construire notre corpus d'enquête, composé essentiellement de textes produits par les étudiants de 9 ans d'école élémentaire de l'Etat, a la ville de Santa Cruz / RN. La recherche a été menée à partir des études sur l'anaphore pronominale faites par Milner (1982), Koch e Marcuschi (1998), Marcuschi (2000; 2005 e 2008), Koch (2002), Antunes (2005) e Adam (2008), et par des études sur la répétition présentés par Halliday e Hassan (1976), Beaugrande e Dressler (1997), Marcuschi (1992) et Antunes (2005). Comme le support technique, ont également utilisé les notions de cohésion définis par Halliday e Hasan (1976), Beaugrande e Dressler (1997), Marcuschi (2008) e Koch (2003). Dans l'analyse des textes, nous avons constaté que l'incidence de l'anaphore pronominale et de la répétition a été importante parce que les ressources étaient principalement utilisés par les étudiants pour promouvoir l'articulation cohérente des textes. Constaté que dans les textes narratifs ou argumentatifs anaphore pronominale promu l'entretien et la progression thématique prévu. Sur la répétition, nous avons observé que le maintien et la progression thématiques ont été conditionnés à la connaissance du sujet en discussion. Même si nous avons constaté que la répétition excessive de ces phénomènes dans le même texte, bien que la relation de promouvoir la cohésion, peut affecter le degré de caractere informatif

O leitor universitário e a construção das práticas de ler e escrever textos impressos e digitais

The construction of a mapping of the practices of reading and writing printed and digital texts, declared by graduating students from the Bachelor s degree in Science and Technology (BCT), has provided us the analysis of the course they are making in such a socio-historical moment characterized by the revolution of the post-paper. In this sense, the general objective of this research is to understand how that construction works under the point of view of those graduating students. For this, our reflection has been guided by the search of answers for some questions which have presented to us: what reading and writing conceptions BCT graduating students have; what reading and writing practices those collaborators develop; what collections they declare to have access to; what differences they declare to have between printed and digital reading and writing along the different social roles they develop; what the reader/writer identity relations of those collaborators are. To achieving the plausible answers, we have gathered a corpus composed by texts of three genres of the argument order: academic profiles (or self-portrait), opinion articles and argumentative letters. Besides, we have made semi-structured interviews and questionnaires in the online tool of the Google Docs. The methodology which supports this academic work is the qualitative research (SIGNORINI; CAVALCANTI, 1998)of ethnographic direction (THOMAS, 1993; ANDRÉ, 1995) in Applied Linguistics (CELANI, 2000; MOITA-LOPES, 2006) and the theoretical contribution comes from the bakhtinian perspective of language conception (BAKHTIN [1929] 1981); the socio-historical writing construction (LÉVY, 1996; CHARTIER, R., 1998, 2002, 2007; COSCARELLI, 2006; CHARTIER, A., 2007; ARAÚJO, 2007; COSCARELLI; RIBEIRO, 2007; XAVIER, 2009; MARCUSCHI; XAVIER, 2010); from the studies of the pedagogy of the writing (GIROUX, 1997); from the literacy studies understood as sociocultural practice, plural and situated (TFOUNI, 1988; KLEIMAN, 1995; TINOCO, 2003, 2008; OLIVEIRA; KLEIMAN, 2008), from the studies about identity in postmodernity (HALL, 2003; BAUMAN, 2005). The results of the analysis have pointed at a multiplicity of reading/writing practices of printed and digital texts developed by the BCT graduating students due to the coexistence of the modality printed and that one derived from the new mobile devices. In that multiplicity, the prevalent idea of the collaborators is that there is a continuum between printed texts and digital texts (not a dichotomy), since the option of reading/writing printed texts or digital ones is always linked to specific communication situations, which involve participants, objectives, strategies, values, (dis)advantages, besides (re)creation of discursive genres in function of the mobile devices to which those collaborators have access in the different spheres of activities that they participate. All of that has caused a deep intersection in the identity traces of college students readers/writers in the 21st century which cannot be ignored by academic formation

Formação de professores de assentamentos rurais do Rio Grande do Norte: representações, memórias e práticas de letramento

This work has as study object the representations that teachers have about literacy, and schooling, as well as their memories and their reading and writing practices in the formation process of teachers in rural areas of the State of Rio Grande do Norte. We focused our discussion in literacy practices constructed on language workshops, assumed as necessary for the teacher formation, the existence of a pedagogical context that allows developing the appropriate teaching action. These workshops aimed at creating a space of constant reflection and action. The corpus is composed of letters written by teachers in formation workshops and interviews emphasizing questions of literacy, schooling, memories and reading and writing practices. These teachers make use of literacy practices related to the plots which they belong to. This research is informed mainly by studies that discuss the Literacy (Street, 1984, 1995; Barton, 1998; Freire, 1978, 1980, 1990, 1996), focusing its political character and of inclusion to the literate world, the Social Representations (Moscovici, 1978) and the studies on genre as a discoursive practice (Fairclough, 2001). Methodologically, this research is of critical ethnographic nature (Cameron, 1992). The letters are disclosed as identity practices - pictures of life histories of the teachers. The analyses of the interviews, in turn, show the literacy multifaceted character, evidencing innumerable views on the phenomenon

Eensino de língua portuguesa: da formação do professor à sala de aula

La reflexión crítica sobre la escuela y los quehaceres docentes ha favorecido la producción y la sistematización de nuevos saberes basados en fundamentos científicos, principalmente sobre las prácticas pedagógicas. En la enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa, las investigaciones buscan comprender lo qué y cómo se enseña y se aprende durante la escolarización. En esa perspectiva, realizamos un estudio sobre la formación del profesor de Lengua Portuguesa y sus implicaciones en la clase, buscando observar la actuación de los alumnos-maestros en el contexto escolar, durante la realización de las Prácticas. Para tanto, elegimos como objetivo general, investigar cómo la carrera de Filología de la UFRN/CERES/Campus de Currais Novos promovía la formación de futuros profesores para atender a las expectativas de las políticas públicas para la enseñanza de Lengua Materna. Como referencial teórico, estudiamos los PCN, el proyecto político pedagógico de la carrera y autores del área de enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa y de Educación, entre ellos, Geraldi (1996), Travaglia (1996, 2003), Antunes (2003, 2007, 2009 y 2010), Lomas (2003), Figueiredo (2005), Marcuschi (2001, 2008), Oliveira (2010), Riolfi et al. (2008), Possenti (2003), Alarcão (1996, 2001) Imbernón (2011), Pimenta y Lima (2010) y Schön (1993). El estudio está situado en el ámbito de la Lingüística Aplicada y se caracteriza como investigación cualitativa de naturaleza interpretativista, a partir de un abordaje de inspiración etnográfica del ambiente de las Prácticas. En los resultados constatamos que los alumnos-maestros privilegian la enseñanza prescriptiva, fundamentado en una concepción de lengua como sistema, direccionando la enseñanza de la lengua para la dirección contraria al abordaje funcionalista (lengua / uso), distanciándose considerablemente de la propuesta de formar un alumno crítico y agente de transformación. Respecto a la visión de los alumnos-maestros sobre la carrera, fueron listadas algunas cuestiones relevantes, entre ellas, los contenidos que hacen parte de la carrera, la distribución de la carga horaria de los componentes curriculares, la revisión de las ementas, la oferta de asignaturas de inclusión social, la reorganización de las actividades de la práctica en relación al acompañamiento y orientación a los alumnos-maestros y, especialmente, la desarticulación teoría / práctica que fue considerada como responsable por muchas de las dificultades encontradas por los referidos alumnos en la fase de regencia de clase en la enseñanza de Lengua Portuguesa en los niveles de enseñanza fundamental y media. De ese modo, a partir del análisis de estos significados construidos por los alumnos-maestros sobre el proceso de formación en esa carrera de Letras, constatamos la necesidad de una revisión del proyecto de la carrera, pues éste presenta esas fragilidades que necesitan ser analizadas en función de la mejoría de la calidad de la enseñanza de la graduación

Trabalhadores por conta própria: O trabalho dos vendedores ambulantes da passarela do Natal shopping e do Via Direta

This study aid to understand the work conditions of street vendors located on the sidewalks of two malls in Brazil Northeast Natal / RN - Both malls Natal Shopping and Via Direta, to analyze their inclusion in the informal economy and to study the supposed autonomy provided by work as self-employment in its both aspects economic and social analyzing the importance on the condition of "masters of their own business" has for the street vendors, as an alternative to not submission to the figure of the boss, that represents the exploitation of one class over another. The theoretical and methodological aspects that support this study was aimed in discussion on the restructuring of production, considering its effects on the world of work, pointing to unemployment as one of the potencies element of excluded processes that exciting workers to engage in the informal market. Informality is presented as a survival strategy and as integrating part of the reproduction of capital. This research was conducted under a critical perspective, whish has been utilized quantitative and qualitative analyses. The results of this study format questions that provided during the research process the socio-economic characterization of workers, main cause of this study, and how street vendors expres their status of workers as self-employed for their work, and the perception that they have on their form of inclusion in the informal market.

Culinária do Seridó: um elemento da identidade territorial

This work aims to analyze the local cuisine as an element of territorial identity from Seridó Rio Grande do Norte State in the contemporaneousness - XXI century, where it takes place one motion, seemly contradictory, yet dialogical, in the way of eating locally is modified by food diversity and yet is lauded as an element of resistance, that is, of identification. Based on the perspective that groups go over time outlining on the territory their eating cultural characteristics, we have noticed that the spatiality from the local cuisine has happened during the territorial structuring process, being susceptible to the social, economical and technological changes, that hover over this space. On the unfolding days it was created a whole semiology around the cookery , incorporating to its territory of living, symbols, images, knowledge, tastes, feelings and smells that legitimate a way of being, better saying, of eating. But not all of the plates that congregate these aspects, only the oldest, the most emblematic. Within the diverse intercrossing of culture at Seridó region, they are the ones that maintain the vinculum from the group with its culture and with its territory, reminding what they are, or at least what they were, conferring them a legitimacy before those to whom they relate. The cookery from the Seridó region, this way is a cultural geo-symbol that turn this space significant and visible, for ordering the inside characteristics from the group before the new socio-cultural models present in the territory

Alterações morfofisiológicas e moleculares em resposta a estresses abióticos em mamona (Ricinus communis L.)

The use of fossil fuels has been considered one of reason for the increase of pollution in the atmosphere and it may be related to the climate changes. Then, the research of the new sources of fuels will be important. Considering this, the use of biodiesel has been considered not as bad as petrol. The castor bean (Ricinus communis L.) is an important oilseed, which belongs to Euphorbiaceae family, and the oil found in the seed has important characteristics for biodiesel. This plant is considered as “rustic” as it does not need so much water for its development and oil production. Due to this, this plant has been considered to be ideal in semi-arid regions, such as the Northeast of Brazil. The aim of his study is to better understand the responses to abiotic stresses (drought and salinity) from castor bean plants using morphological, physiological and molecular tools. In order to do this, the castor bean plants were subjected to salt stress (50, 100, 150 and 200 mM NaCl) in a controlled environment and drought stress (5, 10, 15 days and 10 days cyclic). After these treatments, these plants were subjected to different analyzes: a) the expansion and retention of water from leaves; b) anatomy using leaves and roots. Based on these results, we found that castor suffered decrease in leaf area with increase drought stress, however restricted water loss, probably by accumulation of compatible solutes in the leaves. The anatomy data showed modifications in the vascular system. These modifications observed suggested that castor bean plant may be resistant to stress as it was verified in 5 days of drought as well as in 100 mM NaCl. In both conditions, these plants were fine. Probably these plants keep some solutes in the cell and then maintain the cell tugor. The data obtained in this study gave a better idea how castor bean plant responds to abiotic stress conditions - drought and salt stress

A competência leitora de alunos do ensino fundamental: uma proposta de intervenção

Reading is a activity of paramount importance in the life of every human being, since this practice is essential condition for the exercise of citizenship. Therefore, it is through reading that the student has access to the knowledge that part of the world around him. However, given the complexity involved in the process of learning to read, teach students to read is not an easy task because often they do not acquire the skills necessary to understand the texts. According to this view, the present study focuses on an educational intervention who aim at contribut to the development of reading competence of students in 6th grade "U" of the State School Senador José Bernardo, in São João do Sabugi - RN. The activities which were of that intervention process were conducted in Portuguese Language classroom and developed through didactic sequences drawn from reading strategies, based on the genres tale and news, since students had serious problems with regard to reading comprehension. Given the importance of meeting the aforementioned difficulty, we seek to develop a proposal for interactive reading activities through genres as a language of social practices, whose goal aimed read to understand and make sense of texts. This intervention proposal falls under the Applied Linguistics and to perform it, were taken as a basis some theories focused on the notion of language as sociointerativa practice, such as studies of Bakhtin (2006, 2011), Bronckart (2012) and targeted contributions to the teaching of reading activity, including, Solé (1998), Oliveira (2010), Kleiman (2013), Leffa (1996, 1999), Silveira (2005). Discussions about genres followed the studies of Bakhtin (2011), Marcuschi (2008), as well as other theoretical; the didactic sequences were constructed from Bronckart (2012), Dolz; Noverraz; Schneuwly (2013) and, with regard to the teaching of Portuguese Language, the guidelines were adopted contained in PCN / LP (1998), as well as in Antunes (2003, 2009) and other authors. The results showed that students in the 6th grade increased their understanding capacity of the read texts, by implementing the didactic and pedagogical actions, thereby acquiring the reading competence they needed to keep learning.

Turismo e patrimônio cultural: processo de tombamento e estratégias de utilização turística do Centro Histórico de Natal/RN

In a globalized society, the relations between heritage and tourism are reflected in an ambiguous reality, shaped between the interests of preservation and the aspirations for economic benefits. On the one hand, the cities as a main generating cultural offerings needs to contemplate its heritage as a development axis, finding in the cultural tourism promotion a strategy to support the high cost of recovery and maintenance of its historical center and its expressions cultural. On the other, adds to the new requirements of demand, causing the tourism projects to turn to the cultural factor in the formation of their products, which allows municipalities to attract the growing cultural tourism segment. In this perspective, this study develops into a focused cross-cut in the analysis of Natal’s Historical City Center, in order to understand how this cultural heritage fallen has been used by the municipal administration for tourism. By understanding the heritage as a reference to identity and memory, as well as a cultural symbol of Natal society, characterized as an element surrounded by complex and strictly private situations, it identified the need for a qualitative approach to his deep understanding. The in-depth case study developed in two stages, first the realization of bibliographical and documentary research; and thereafter the interpretation of data collected through semi-structured interviews with municipal administrators and local residents. The survey results show that the official representatives of heritage are concerned about the preservation of the material dimension of the architectural heritage of the city, however, still can not reach and sensitize the local population, which seems to be part of a process that should be democratic and strengthening the sense of belonging of these people. Finally, it indicates an absence of revitalization strategies by the current municipal public administration for Natal’s Historical City Center, revealing a speech covered by a positivist interpretation of tourism, which deals with the use of assets by the scope of the marketing empiricism.

Surgical Site Infection in a University Hospital in Northeast Brazil

We examined prevention of surgical site infection (SSI) in a tertiary teaching hospital in northeast Brazil, from January 1994 to December 2003. The survey included 5,742 patients subjected to thoracic, urologic, vascular and general surgery. The criteria for diagnosing SSI were those of the Centers for Disease Control, USA, and the variables of the National Nosocomial Infection Surveillance risk index were used. Data analysis revealed that anesthetic risk scores, wound class and duration of surgery were significantly associated with SSI. A total of 296 SSIs were detected among the 5,742 patients (5.1%). The overall incidence of SSI was 8.8% in 1994; it decreased to 3.3% in 2003. In conclusion, the use of educational strategies, based on guidelines for SSI prevention reduced SSI incidence. Appropriate management of preoperative, intraoperative, and postoperative incision care, and a surveillance system based on international criteria, were useful in reducing SSI rates in our hospital

Irregularidade do ciclo menstrual no Menacme como marcador para fatores de risco cardiovasculares na pós-menopausa

A associação entre fatores de risco cardiovascular (FRCV) na pósmenopausa e o antecedente de irregularidade menstrual no menacme foi avaliado em estudo caso-controle envolvendo 414 mulheres na pósmenopausa com idade de 60,4 ± 5,5 anos e IMC de 25,3 ± 4,7 kg/m2. As variáveis consideradas foram: caracterização do ciclo menstrual entre 20 e 35 anos (independente) e relato atual sobre ocorrência de hipertensão arterial, dislipidemia, diabetes mellitus e doença arterial coronariana (dependentes). Utilizou-se o teste qui-quadrado e modelos de regressão logística, ajustados para outras variáveis implicadas no risco para doenças CV, com nível de significância 5%. Observou-se que mulheres que relataram irregularidade menstrual prévia estiveram associadas com risco aumentado para ocorrência de algum FRCV [odds ratio ajustado (OR)= 2,14; IC-95%= 1,02–4,48], quando comparadas àquelas com ciclos regulares. Análise estratificada demonstrou as seguintes associações significativas com o antecedente de irregularidade menstrual: hipertensão arterial (OR= 2,4; 95% IC= 1,39–5,41), hipercolesterolemia (OR= 2,32; 95% IC= 1,17–4,59), hipertrigliceridemia (OR= 2,09; 95% IC= 1,10–4,33) e angioplastia coronariana (OR= 6,82; 95% IC= 1,44–32,18). Os dados sugerem que o antecedente de irregularidade menstrual, indicativo da ocorrência da síndrome dos ovários policísticos na idade reprodutiva, pode estar relacionado com aumento do risco para doenças CV na pós-menopausa __________________________________________________ABSTRACT Menstrual Cycle Irregularity as a Marker of Cardiovascular Risk Factors at Postmenopausal Years.To evaluate the association between cardiovascular risk factors (CVRF)during postmenopausal years and previous menstrual irregularity during reproductive years, we performed a case-control study in 414 postmenopausal women (mean age 60.4 ± 5.5 years; BMI 25.3 ± 4.7 kg/m2). The variables assessed were: menstrual cycle characteristics at age 20–35y (independent) and records of arterial hypertension, dyslipidemia, diabetes mellitus, and coronary heart disease (dependent). Statistical analysis used the chi-square test and logistic regression, adjusting for potential confounders for cardiovascular risk, with significance set at 5%. Women reporting previous menstrual irregularity were associated with increased risk for some CVRF [adjusted odds ratio (OR) 2.14; CI-95%= 1.02–4.48], when compared with those reporting regular menstrual cycles. Stratified analysis demonstrated significant associations of previous menstrual irregularity with: arterial hypertension [OR= 2.74; CI-95%= 1.39–5.41), hypercholesterolemia (OR= 2.32; CI-95%= 1.17–4.59), hypertriglyceridemia (OR= 2.09; CI-95%=1.10–4.33), and coronary angioplasty (OR= 6.82; CI-95%= 1.44–32.18). These data suggest that a prior history of menstrual irregularity, as indicative of polycystic ovary syndrome, may be related to increased risk for CVD during postmenopausal years

Prevalência de sintomas do climatério em mulheres dos meios rural e urbano no Rio Grande do Norte, Brasil

OBJETIVO: avaliar a sintomatologia climatérica e fatores relacionados entre mulheres dos meios urbano e rural do Rio Grande do Norte. MÉTODOS: estudo transversal, descritivo, envolvendo casuística de 261 mulheres climatéricas residentes em Natal e Mossoró (grupo urbano; n=130) e Uruaçu, em São Gonçalo do Amarante (grupo rural; n=131). A sintomatologia climatérica foi avaliada pelo Índice Menopausal de Blatt-Kupperman (IMBK) e Escala Climatérica de Greene (ECG). A análise estatística constou de comparações das medianas dos escores entre os grupos e regressão logística. Defi niram-se como “muito sintomáticas” as pacientes com escores ≥20, para ambos instrumentos (variável dependente). As variáveis independentes foram: idade, procedência, alfabetização, obesidade e prática de atividade física. RESULTADOS: o grupo urbano apresentou escores signifi cativamente superiores ao grupo rural, tanto para o IMBK (medianas de 26,0 e 17,0, respectivamente; p<0,0001), quanto para a ECG (medianas de 27,0 e 16,0, respectivamente; p<0,0001). Na amostra total, evidenciou-se que 56,3% (n=147) das mulheres foram classifi cadas como “muito sintomáticas”. Na comparação intergrupos, essa prevalência foi signifi cativamente mais elevada nas mulheres urbanas em relação às rurais (79,2 e 33,6%, respectivamente; p<0,05). Pela análise de regressão logística, evidenciou-se que a chance de pertencer ao grupo defi nido como “muito sintomáticas” foi maior para mulheres do meio urbano [odds ratio ajustado (OR)=7,1; 95% intervalo de confi ança a 95% (IC95%)=3,69-13,66] e alfabetizadas (OR=2,19; IC95%=1,16-4,13). A idade superior a 60 anos associou-se com menor chance de ocorrência de sintomas signifi cativos (OR=0,38; IC95%=0,17-0,87). CONCLUSÕES: a prevalência de sintomas climatéricos signifi cativos é menor em mulheres do meio rural, demonstrando que fatores socioculturais e ambientais estão fortemente relacionados ao surgimento dos sintomas climatéricos em nossa população.___________________________________ABSTRACT PURPOSE: to evaluate climacteric symptoms and related factors in women living in rural and urban areas of Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil. METHODS: a cross-sectional study involving 261 women in the climacteric was performed. A total of 130 women from Natal and Mossoró (urban group) and 131 from Uruaçu, in São Gonçalo do Amarante (rural group), were studied. Climacteric symptoms were assessed by the Blatt-Kupperman Menopausal Index (BKMI) and Greene Climacteric Scale (GCE). Statistical analysis involved comparison of median between groups and logistic regression analysis. Patients were defi ned as “very symptomatic” when the climacteric score was ≥20 for both questionnaires (dependent variable). Independent variables were: age, living area, schooling, obesity and physical activity. RESULTS: the urban group had signifi cantly higher scores than those of the rural group, both for BKMI (median of 26.0 and 17.0, respectively; p<0.0001) and for GCE (median of 27.0 and 16.0, respectively; p<0.0001). For the entire sample, a total of 56.3% (n=147) of the women were classifi ed as “very symptomatic”. This prevalence was signifi cantly higher in urban than in rural women (79.2 and 33.6%, respectively; p<0.05). Logistic regression analysis showed that the likelihood of belonging to the group defi ned as “very symptomatic” was greater for urban women [adjusted odds ratio (OR)=7.1; confi dence interval at 95% (95%CI)=3.69-13.66] who were literate (OR=2.19; 95%CI=1.16- 4.13). Individuals over the age of 60 years had less chance of having signifi cant symptoms (OR=0.38; 95%CI=0.17-0.87). CONCLUSIONS: the prevalence of signifi cant climacteric symptoms is less in women from a rural environment, showing that sociocultural and environmental factors are strongly related to the appearance of climacteric symptoms in our population

Efeito da idade materna sobre os resultados perinatais

Objetivo: analisar a relação entre a idade materna e a ocorrência de resultados perinatais adversos na população do Rio Grande do Norte. Métodos: foram analisados os registros oficiais de 57.088 nascidos vivos no Estado do Rio Grande do Norte no ano de 1997. Os dados foram obtidos do Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos do Ministério da Saúde. A população estudada foi dividida em Grupos I, II e III, segundo a faixa etária materna: 10 a 19, 20 a 34 e 35 anos ou mais, respectivamente. As variáveis analisadas foram: duração da gestação, peso ao nascer e tipo de parto. A análise estatística foi realizada utilizando-se o teste c2. Resultados: observamos uma maior incidência de parto pré-termo no Grupo I (4,3 %), em comparação ao Grupo II (3,7%) (p = 0,0028). A taxa de cesariana foi menor nos Grupos I e III, em comparação ao Grupo II (p<0,0001). Evidenciamos freqüência significativamente maior de recém-nascidos de baixo peso nos Grupos I (8,4%) e III (8,3%), quando comparados ao Grupo II (6,5%) (p<0,0001). Conclusões: a gravidez nos extremos da vida reprodutiva esteve associada com maior freqüência de parto pré-termo e baixo peso ao nascer, entretanto, com relação ao tipo de parto, foi observada maior freqüência de parto normal do que no grupo de gestantes com idade entre 20 e 34 anos