Control of parasitic infections among school children in the peri-urban area of Botucatu, Sao Paulo, Brazil

The prevalence of intestinal parasitosis was investigated in a primary school located in Rubiao Junior, a peri-urban district of Botucatu, Sao Paulo state, Brazil, in order to assess the effect of treatment and practical measures of prophylaxis in the control of parasitic infections among 7-to-18-year-old school children of a low socio-economic status. The first series of parasitological examinations included 219 school children, of which 123 (56.1%) were found to be infected with one or more parasite species. Eighty-four children carrying pathogenic parasites were submitted to various anti-parasitic treatment schedules. We re-evaluated 75 (89%) students after 4 to 6 months postchemotherapy. The results indicate that the combination of treatment with prophylactic measures has been successful in the control of parasitic infections, since reinfection rates were generally low (≤5.3%), except for Giardia lamblia infections (18.6%), and a marked reduction on the prevalence rates was observed with a significant percentage of cure (≤73.1%) in children infected with most parasite species. The reasons for the apparent failure in the control of infections caused by Hymenolepsis nana and Strongyloides stercoralis are discussed.

High rates of undiagnosed leprosy and subclinical infection amongst school children in the Amazon Region

Leprosy in children is correlated with community-level factors, including the recent presence of disease and active foci of transmission in the community. We performed clinical and serological examinations of 1,592 randomly selected school children (SC) in a cross-sectional study of eight hyperendemic municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon Region. Sixty-three (4%) SC, with a mean age of 13.3 years (standard deviation = 2.6), were diagnosed with leprosy and 777 (48.8%) were seropositive for anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I). Additionally, we evaluated 256 house-hold contacts (HHCs) of the students diagnosed with leprosy; 24 (9.4%) HHC were also diagnosed with leprosy and 107 (41.8%) were seropositive. The seroprevalence of anti-PGL-I was significantly higher amongst girls, students from urban areas and students from public schools (p < 0.0001). Forty-five (71.4%) new cases detected amongst SC were classified as paucibacillary and 59 (93.6%) patients did not demonstrate any degree of physical disability at diagnosis. The results of this study suggest that there is a high rate of undiagnosed leprosy and subclinical infection amongst children in the Amazon Region. The advantages of school surveys in hyperendemic areas include identifying leprosy patients at an early stage when they show no physical disabilities, preventing the spread of the infection in the community and breaking the chain of transmission.

Median ages at stages of sexual maturity and excess weight in school children

Background: We aimed to estimate the median ages at specific stages of sexual maturity stratified by excess weight in boys and girls.Materials and method: This was a cross-sectional study made in 2007 in Florianopolis, Brazil, with 2,339 schoolchildren between 8 to 14 years of age (1,107 boys) selected at random in two steps (by region and type of school). The schoolchildren were divided into: i) those with excess weight and ii) those without excess weight, according to the WHO 2007 cut-off points for gender and age. Sexual maturity was self-evaluated by the subjects according to the Tanner sexual development stages, and utilizing median ages for the genitalia, breasts, and pubic hair stages.Results: In the boys with excess weight, precocity was observed in the stages 4 for genitals and pubic hair and 2 for pubic hair, with the values for excess and normal weight. The median ages at the beginning of puberty (stage 2-sexual development) for boys and girls in Florianopolis were 10.8 and 10.3 years, respectively.Conclusion: Excess weight is associated with lower median ages in the sexual maturity stages in boys and girls and that it should be taken into account when evaluating sexual maturity in children and adolescents.

Levels of phonological awareness, working memory, and lexical knowledge in elementary school children

Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (CNPq)

Does group size matter? Cheating and cooperation in Brazilian school children

Cooperation between individuals is an important requisite for the maintenance of social relationships. The purpose of this study was to investigate cooperation in children in the school environment, where individuals could cooperate or not with their classmates in a public goods game. We investigated which of the following variables influenced cooperation in children: sex, group size, and information on the number of sessions. Group size was the only factor to significantly affect cooperation, with small-group children cooperating significantly more than those in large groups. Both sex and information had no effect on cooperation. We suggest that these results reflect the fact that, in small groups, individuals were more efficient in controlling and retaliating theirs peers than in large groups. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

High rates of undiagnosed leprosy and subclinical infection amongst school children in the Amazon Region

Leprosy in children is correlated with community-level factors, including the recent presence of disease and active foci of transmission in the community. We performed clinical and serological examinations of 1,592 randomly selected school children (SC) in a cross-sectional study of eight hyperendemic municipalities in the Brazilian Amazon Region. Sixty-three (4%) SC, with a mean age of 13.3 years (standard deviation = 2.6), were diagnosed with leprosy and 777 (48.8%) were seropositive for anti-phenolic glycolipid-I (PGL-I). Additionally, we evaluated 256 household contacts (HHCs) of the students diagnosed with leprosy; 24 (9.4%) HHC were also diagnosed with leprosy and 107 (41.8%) were seropositive. The seroprevalence of anti-PGL-I was significantly higher amongst girls, students from urban areas and students from public schools (p < 0.0001). Forty-five (71.4%) new cases detected amongst SC were classified as paucibacillary and 59 (93.6%) patients did not demonstrate any degree of physical disability at diagnosis. The results of this study suggest that there is a high rate of undiagnosed leprosy and subclinical infection amongst children in the Amazon Region. The advantages of school surveys in hyperendemic areas include identifying leprosy patients at an early stage when they show no physical disabilities, preventing the spread of the infection in the community and breaking the chain of transmission.

Nutritional transition of school children from low income families of a northeastern urban area, Brazil

Background: Evaluating child growth is, in practice, performed by measuring the development of a child's weight, height, and body composition in comparison to averages observed among a reference population. Objective: To describe the nutritional status of children of low income families who live in urban region in northeastern Brazil. Methods: This study is a population case series with a transversal and observational design. The study population consisted of 257 children, aged 5 to 10 years, who were enrolled in a public school to children of low income families. We used the cutoff point for short stature of -2 Z scores for age, and underweight, overweight, and obese were classified as the 5th, 85th, and 95th percentiles, respectively, of the body mass index (BMI) for age, with both classifications in accordance with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC 2000). Comparisons by gender were performed for the measures of the central tendency and the frequency of diagnoses, in addition to the tendency of the evolution of BMI by age. Results: The prevalence of short stature was 3.5% (95% CI: 1.9-6.5). In the evaluation of BMI for age, the prevalences found for underweight, overweight, and obese were 5.8% (95% CI: 3.6-9.4), 4.7% (95% CI: 2.7-8.0), and 2.3% (95% CI: 1.1-5.0), respectively. We found a significant trend in the reduction of BMI with the increase in age. Conclusions: According to CDC references, the prevalences of underweight and short stature were higher than expected and for the overweight and obesity were lower than expected, indicating that the nutritional transition had still not reached, as commonly is described, these low income children from the urban outskirts of the Northeast region.

Cesarean section and increased body mass index in school children: two cohort studies from distinct socioeconomic background areas in Brazil

Abstract Background Recent studies have raised controversy regarding the association between cesarean section and later obesity in the offspring. The purpose of this study was to assess the association of cesarean section with increased body mass index (BMI) and obesity in school children from two Brazilian cities with distinct socioeconomic backgrounds. Methods Two birth cohorts respectively born in 1994 in Ribeirao Preto, a wealthy city in Southeast, and in 1997/98 in Sao Luis, a less wealthy city in Northeast of Brasil, were evaluated. After birth, 2,846 pairs of mothers-newborns were evaluated in Ribeirao Preto and 2,542 in Sao Luis. In 2004/05, 790 children aged 10/11 years were randomly reassessed in Ribeirao Preto and 673 at 7/9 years in Sao Luis. Information on type of delivery, maternal and child characteristics, socioeconomic position and anthropometric measurements were collected after birth and at school age. Obesity was defined as BMI ≥ 95th percentile at school age. Results Obesity rate was 13.0% in Ribeirao Preto and 2.1% in Sao Luis. Cesarean section was associated with obesity and remained significant after adjustment only in Ribeirao Preto [OR = 1.74 (95% CI: 1.04; 2.92)]. The association between cesarean section and BMI remained significant after adjustment for maternal schooling, maternal smoking during pregnancy, duration of breastfeeding, gender, birth weight and gestational age, type of school and, only in Sao Luis, pre-pregnancy maternal weight. In Ribeirao Preto children born by cesarean section had BMI 0.31 kg/m2 (95%CI: 0.11; 0.51) higher than those born by vaginal delivery. In Sao Luis BMI of children born by cesarean section was 0.28 kg/m2 higher (95%CI: 0.08; 0.49) than those born by vaginal delivery. Conclusion A positive association between cesarean section and increased BMI z-score was demonstrated in areas with different socioeconomic status in a middle-income country.

Median ages at stages of sexual maturity and excess weight in school children

Abstract: Background: We aimed to estimate the median ages at specific stages of sexual maturity stratified by excess weight in boys and girls. Materials and method. This was a cross-sectional study made in 2007 in Florianopolis, Brazil, with 2,339 schoolchildren between 8 to 14 years of age (1,107 boys) selected at random in two steps (by region and type of school). The schoolchildren were divided into: i) those with excess weight and ii) those without excess weight, according to the WHO 2007 cut-off points for gender and age. Sexual maturity was self-evaluated by the subjects according to the Tanner sexual development stages, and utilizing median ages for the genitalia, breasts, and pubic hair stages. Results: In the boys with excess weight, precocity was observed in the stages 4 for genitals and pubic hair and 2 for pubic hair, with the values for excess and normal weight. The median ages at the beginning of puberty (stage 2–sexual development) for boys and girls in Florianopolis were 10.8 and 10.3 years, respectively. Conclusion: Excess weight is associated with lower median ages in the sexual maturity stages in boys and girls and that it should be taken into account when evaluating sexual maturity in children and adolescents.

Early alveolar bone grafting has a negative effect on maxillary dental arch dimensions of pre-school children with complete unilateral cleft lip and palate

To evaluate maxillary dental arch dimensions in pre-school children with a complete unilateral cleft lip and palate (CUCLP) after early alveolar bone grafting.