Trends in the modes of delivery and their impact on perinatal mortality rates

OBJECTIVE: To determine changes in the incidence of vaginal deliveries, cesarean sections, and forceps deliveries and their potential association with fetal, early neonatal, and perinatal mortality rates over time. METHODS: A retrospective study was carried out and the occurrence of deliveries supervised by university services between January 1991 and December 2000 was determined. Data regarding fetal, early neonatal, and perinatal deaths were assessed using obstetric and pediatric records and autopsy reports. RESULTS: Of a total of 33,360 deliveries, the incidence of vaginal deliveries, cesarean sections, and forceps deliveries was relatively steady (around 60, 30, and 10%, respectively) while, at the same time, there was a marked reduction in fetal mortality (from 33.3 to 13.0‰), early neonatal mortality (from 30.6 to 9.0‰), and perinatal mortality (from 56.4 to 19.3‰). CONCLUSIONS: The marked reduction in perinatal mortality rates seen during the study period without an increase in cesarean sections indicates that the decrease in perinatal mortality was not impacted by cesarean section rates. The plausible hypothesis seems to be that the reduction in perinatal mortality of deliveries performed under the supervision of university services was more likely to be associated with better neonatal care rather than the mode of delivery.

Publicações científicas e as relações Norte-Sul: racismo editorial?

O objetivo do estudo foi comentar a possível existência de preconceito editorial entre editores de revistas científicas de países do Norte contra autores do Sul. Destacou-se que em estudo por métodos bibliométricos ficou evidenciada a existência de um importante desequilíbrio entre a produção científica de pesquisadores de países de alta renda ("Norte") e daqueles trabalhando em instituições de países de renda média ou baixa ("Sul"). Há uma percepção generalizada entre autores brasileiros de que, em parte, isso seria devido a preconceito de editores de revistas internacionais contra autores do Sul - 75% de uma amostra de 244 autores que responderam a inquérito acreditam que exista preconceito. Essa impressão é reforçada pela observação de uma minoria dos membros de conselhos editoriais das principais revistas na área de saúde proveniente do Sul. Embora o preconceito possa explicar parte do problema, há também questões especificas e remediáveis que podem aumentar a probabilidade de publicar no exterior. Essas incluem investir na qualidade do texto e da redação, e mostrar empatia com editores e leitores, sinalizando claramente a contribuição que o artigo pode trazer para a literatura internacional. Finalmente, é abordada a questão de onde publicar: em periódicos nacionais ou internacionais. Foram propostos seis tópicos que devem ser levados em conta nessa opção: idioma e público-alvo; tipo de contribuição ao conhecimento; capacidade de generalização; índice de citações; velocidade de publicação; e acesso livre. O aumento rápido de publicações brasileiras em periódicos internacionais mostra que o preconceito editorial, embora existente, pode ser efetivamente vencido por trabalhos com metodologia sólida e apresentação de qualidade.

Gender and racial inequalities in trends of oral cancer mortality in Sao Paulo, Brazil

OBJECTIVE:To analyse recent trends in oral cancer mortality, focusing specifically on differences concerning gender and race.METHODS:Official information on deaths and population in the city of Sao Paulo, 2003 to 2009, were used to estimate mortality rates from oral cancer (C00 to C10, International Classification of Diseases, 10th Revision), adjusted for age and stratified by gender (females and males) and race (blacks and whites). The Prais-Winsten auto-regression procedure was used to analyse the time series.RESULTS:During the study period, 8,505 individuals living in the city of Sao Paulo died of oral cancer. Rates increased for females (rate of yearly increase = 4.4%, 95%CI 1.4;7.5), and levelled off for men, which represents an inversion of previous trends among genders in the city. Increases were identified for blacks, with a high rate of yearly increase of 9.1% (95%CI 5.5;12.9), and levelled off for whites. Oral cancer mortality in blacks almost doubled during the study period, and surpassed mortality in whites for almost all categories.CONCLUSIONS:Mortality presented a higher increase among women than in men, and it doubled among backs. The surveillance of trends of oral cancer mortality across gender and racial groups may contribute to implementing socially appropriate health policies, which concurrently reduce the burden of disease and the attenuation of unfair, avoidable and unnecessary inequalities in health.