Tooth loss in Brazilian middle-aged adults: multilevel effects

Objective. To examine the link between tooth loss and multilevel factors in a national sample of middle-aged adults in Brazil. Material and methods. Analyses were based on the 2003 cross-sectional national epidemiological survey of the oral health of the Brazilian population, which covered 13 431 individuals (age 35-44 years). Multistage cluster sampling was used. The dependent variable was tooth loss and the independent variables were classified according to the individual or contextual level. A multilevel negative binomial regression model was adopted. Results. The average tooth loss was 14 (standard deviation 9.5) teeth. Half of the individuals had lost 12 teeth. The contextual variables showed independent effects on tooth loss. It was found that having 9 years or more of schooling was associated with protection against tooth loss (means ratio range 0.68-0.76). Not having visited the dentist and not having visited in the last >= 3 years accounted for increases of 33.5% and 21.3%, respectively, in the risk of tooth loss (P < 0.05). The increase in tooth extraction ratio showed a strong contextual effect on increased risk of tooth loss, besides changing the effect of protective variables. Conclusions. Tooth loss in middle-aged adults has important associations with social determinants of health. This study points to the importance of the social context as the main cause of oral health injuries suffered by most middle-aged Brazilian adults.

Normative Data for Healthy Middle-Aged and Elderly Performance on the Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised

Objective: To provide normative data for healthy middle-aged and elderly Brazilians' performance on the Addenbrooke Cognitive Examination-Revised (ACE-R) and to investigate the effects of age, sex, and schooling on test performance. Background: The ACE-R is a brief cognitive battery that assesses various aspects of cognition. Its 5 subdomains (Attention and Orientation, Memory, Verbal Fluency, Language, and Visuospatial Abilities) are commonly impaired in Alzheimer disease or frontotemporal dementia. Methods: We evaluated 144 cognitively healthy volunteers (50% men, 50% women) aged 50 to 93 years, with 4 to 24 years of schooling. We divided the participants into 4 age groups, each of which was then stratified into 3 groups according to years of education. We assessed all participants with the ACE-R, the Mattis Dementia Rating Scale, and the Cornell Scale for Depression in Dementia. Results: Years of education affected all ACE-R subscores. Age influenced the Verbal Fluency subscore (P < 0.001) and the ACE-R total score (P < 0.05). Sex affected the Attention and Orientation (P = 0.037) and Mini-Mental State Examination subscores (P = 0.048), but not the ACE-R total score (P > 0.05). Conclusions: The performance of healthy middle-aged and elderly individuals on the ACE-R battery is strongly influenced by education and, to a lesser extent, by age. These findings are of special relevance in countries with populations that have marked heterogeneity in educational levels.

Foctors that prevent children from gaining access to schooling : a study of Delhi Slum households

This paper examines the factors that prevent slum children aged 5 to 14 from gaining access to schooling in light of the worsening urban poverty and sizable increase in rural-to-urban migration. Bias against social disadvantage in terms of gender and caste is not clearly manifested in schooling, while migrated children are less likely to attend school. I argue that the lack of preparation for schooling in the pre-schooling ages and school admission procedures are the main obstacles for migrated children. The most important implication for universal elementary education in urban India is raising parental awareness and simplifying the admission procedures.

Treadmill Training Increases Sirt-1 And Pgc-1 α Protein Levels And Ampk Phosphorylation In Quadriceps Of Middle-aged Rats In An Intensity-dependent Manner.

The present study investigated the effects of running at 0.8 or 1.2 km/h on inflammatory proteins (i.e., protein levels of TNF- α , IL-1 β , and NF- κ B) and metabolic proteins (i.e., protein levels of SIRT-1 and PGC-1 α , and AMPK phosphorylation) in quadriceps of rats. Male Wistar rats at 3 (young) and 18 months (middle-aged rats) of age were divided into nonexercised (NE) and exercised at 0.8 or 1.2 km/h. The rats were trained on treadmill, 50 min per day, 5 days per week, during 8 weeks. Forty-eight hours after the last training session, muscles were removed, homogenized, and analyzed using biochemical and western blot techniques. Our results showed that: (a) running at 0.8 km/h decreased the inflammatory proteins and increased the metabolic proteins compared with NE rats; (b) these responses were lower for the inflammatory proteins and higher for the metabolic proteins in young rats compared with middle-aged rats; (c) running at 1.2 km/h decreased the inflammatory proteins and increased the metabolic proteins compared with 0.8 km/h; (d) these responses were similar between young and middle-aged rats when trained at 1.2 km. In summary, the age-related increases in inflammatory proteins, and the age-related declines in metabolic proteins can be reversed and largely improved by treadmill training.

Dyspareunia In Hiv-positive And Hiv-negative Middle-aged Women: A Cross-sectional Study.

To evaluate whether dyspareunia is associated with HIV status in menopausal women and also to assess which factors are associated with dyspareunia in a group of HIV-positive menopausal women. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 178 HIV-negative and 128 HIV-positive women aged 40-60 years. The Short Personal Experiences Questionnaire (SPEQ) was used to collect data. Sociodemographic, clinical, behavioural and reproductive factors were evaluated, as well as factors related to the HIV infection. Dyspareunia was defined as pain during intercourse. A bivariate analysis and Poisson multiple regression analysis were performed. Overall, 41.4% of the HIV-positive women reported dyspareunia compared with 34.8% of the HIV-negative women (p=0.242). In the HIV-positive women, bivariate analysis revealed an association between dyspareunia and having a steady partner (p=0.047); the woman's partner having undergone HIV testing (p=0.020); vaginal dryness (p<0.001); muscle/joint pain (p=0.021); physical/emotional violence (p=0.049); urinary incontinence (p=0.004); and the use of lamivudine/zidovudine (p=0.048). The Poisson multiple regression analysis found an association between dyspareunia and vaginal dryness (prevalence ratio (PR)=1.96, 95% CI 1.10 to 3.50, p=0.023) and urinary incontinence (PR=1.86, 95% CI 1.06 to 3.27, p=0.031). Dyspareunia was common in this group of HIV-positive women and was associated principally with vaginal dryness and urinary incontinence. The importance of treating dyspareunia within the context of sexual health in this group of women should be emphasised and appropriate management of this issue may reduce the likelihood of lesions on the vaginal wall, which may act as a portal of entry for other infections.

Variabilidade da frequência cardíaca após treinamento concorrente : comparação entre homens e mulheres de meia-idade = Heart rate variability after concurrent training : comparison between middle-aged men and women

Universidade Estadual de Campinas . Faculdade de Educação Física

Efeito das sessões de familiarização sobre o pico de torque e taxa de desenvolvimento de torque : comparações entre jovens, meia idade e idosos = Effect of familiarization sessions on peak torque and rate of torque development : comparisons among young, middle age and elderly

Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Faculdade de Educação Física

Natural history and population data of fishes in caves of the Serra do Ramalho karst area, Middle São Francisco basin, northeastern Brazil

During the exploration and mapping of new caves in Serra do Ramalho karst area, southern Bahia state, cavers from the Grupo Bambuí de Pesquisas Espeleológicas - GBPE (Belo Horizonte) noticed the presence of troglomorphic catfishes (species with reduced eyes and/or melanic pigmentation), which we intensively investigated with regards to their ecology and behavior since 2005. Non-troglomorphic fishes regularly found in the studied caves were included in this investigation. We present here data on the natural history of two troglobitic (exclusively subterranean troglomorphic species) fishes - Rhamdia enfurnada Bichuette & Trajano, 2005 (Heptapteridae; Gruna do Enfurnado) and Trichomycterus undescribed species (Trichomycteridae; Lapa dos Peixes and Gruna da Água Clara), and non-troglomorphic Hoplias cf. malabaricus, probably a troglophile (able to form populations both in epigean and subterranean habitats) in the Gruna do Enfurnado, and Pimelodella sp., a species with a sink population in the Lapa dos Peixes.