Functional disability of adults in Brazil: prevalence and associated factors

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate the prevalence and factors associated with functional disability in adults in Brazil. METHODS We used information from the health supplement of the National Household Sample Survey in 2008. The dependent variable was the functional disability among adults of 18 to 65 years, measured by the difficulty of walking about 100 meters; independent variables were: health plan membership, region of residence, state of domicile, education level, household income, economic activity, self-perception of health, hospitalization, chronic diseases, age group, sex, and color. We calculated the gross odds ratios (OR), and their respective confidence intervals (95%), and adjusted them for variables of study by ordinal logistic regression, following hierarchical model. Sample weights were considered in all calculations. RESULTS We included 18,745 subjects, 74.0% of whom were women. More than a third of adults reported having functional disability. The disability was significantly higher among men (OR = 1.17; 95%CI 1.09;1.27), people from 35 to 49 years (OR = 1.30; 95%CI 1.17;1.45) and 50 to 65 years (OR = 1.38; 95%CI 1.24;1.54); economically inactive individuals (OR = 2.21; 95%CI 1.65;2.96); adults who reported heart disease (OR = 1.13; 95%CI 1.03;1.24), diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.16; 95%CI 1.05;1.29), arterial systemic hypertension (OR = 1.10; 95%CI 1.02;1.18), and arthritis/rheumatism (OR = 1.24; 95%CI 1.15;1.34); and participants who were admitted in the last 12 months (OR = 2.35; 95%CI 1.73;3.2). CONCLUSIONS Functional disability is common among Brazilian adults. Hospitalization is the most strongly associated factor, followed by economic activity, and chronic diseases. Sex, age, education, and income are also associated. Results indicate specific targets for actions that address the main factors associated with functional disabilities and contribute to the projection of interventions for the improvement of the well-being and promotion of adults' quality of life.

Past and present: conditions of life during childhood and mortality of older adults

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE: To analyze whether socioeconomic and health conditions during childhood are associated with mortality during old age. METHODS: Data were extracted from the SABE Study (Saúde, Bem-estar e Envelhecimento – Health, Welfare and Aging), which were performed in 2000 and 2006. The sample consisted of 2004 (1,355 living and 649 dead) older adults. The statistical analysis was performed based on Poisson regression models, taking into account the time variation of risk observed. Older adults’ demographic characteristics and life conditions were evaluated, as were the socioeconomic and lifestyle conditions they acquired during their adult life. RESULTS: Only the area of residence during childhood (rural or urban) remained as a factor associated with mortality at advanced ages. However, this association lost significance when the variables acquired during adulthood were added to the model. CONCLUSIONS: Despite the information regarding the conditions during childhood being limited and perhaps not accurately measure the socioeconomic status and health in the first years of life, the findings of this study suggest that improving the environmental conditions of children and creating opportunities during early adulthood may contribute to greater survival rates for those of more advanced years.

How short and light can a simple pendulum be for classroom use?

We compare the period of oscillation of an ideal simple pendulum with the period of a more 'real' pendulum constituted of a rigid sphere and a rigid slender rod. We determine the relative error in the calculation of the local acceleration of gravity if the period of the ideal pendulum is use?d instead of the period of this real pendulum. © 2014 IOP Publishing Ltd..

Treatment of depression in older adults beyond fluoxetine

This review aimed to discuss the importance of the comprehensive treatment of depression among older adults in Brazil. The abuse of selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors, including fluoxetine hydrochloride, as antidepressants has been considered a serious public health problem, particularly among older adults. Despite the consensus on the need for a comprehensive treatment of depression in this population, Brazil is still unprepared. The interface between pharmacotherapy and psychotherapy is limited due to the lack of healthcare services, specialized professionals, and effective healthcare planning. Fluoxetine has been used among older adults as an all-purpose drug for the treatment of depressive disorders because of psychosocial adversities, lack of social support, and limited access to adequate healthcare services for the treatment of this disorder. Preparing health professionals is a sine qua non for the reversal of the age pyramid, but this is not happening yet.

Life expectancy without depression increases among Brazilian older adults

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To estimate life expectancy with and without depressive symptoms in older adults for the years 2000 and 2010. METHODS We evaluated individuals aged 60 years or older (n = 1,862 in 2000 and n = 1,280 in 2010), participants of the Saúde, Bem-Estar e Envelhecimento (SABE – Health, Wellbeing and Aging) study in in Sao Paulo, Southeastern Brazil. Depression was measured using the shorter version of the Geriatric Depression Scale (GDS-15); respondents scoring ≥ 6 were classified as having depression. Estimates of life expectancy with and without depression were obtained using the Sullivan method. RESULTS Data from 2000 indicate that 60-year-old men could expect to live, on average, 14.7 years without depression and 60-year-old women could expect to live 16.5 years without depression. By 2010, life expectancy without depression had increased to 16.7 years for men and 17.8 years for women. Expected length of life with depression differed by sex, with women expected to live more years with depression than men. CONCLUSIONS Between 2000 and 2010, life expectancy without depression in Sao Paulo increased. However, older adults in Brazil, especially older women, still face a serious burden of mental illness.

Use of the Brazilian People’s Pharmacy Program by older adults

ABSTRACT OBJECTIVE To assess the prevalence and factors associated with the use of the expanded Brazilian People’s Pharmacy Program among older adults and the reasons for not using it. METHODS In this population-based cross-sectional study conducted in the urban area of Pelotas, RS, Southern Brazil, we evaluated 1,305 older adults (aged 60 years or over) who had used medication in the last 15 days. Independent variables were socioeconomic factors, economic status, household income in minimum wages, educational attainment in years of schooling and occupational status. Demographic variables were sex, age, marital status, and self-reported skin color/race. Poisson regression was employed to analyze the factors associated with the use of the program. RESULTS The prevalence of use was 57.0% whilst the prevalence of knowledge of the program was 87.0%. In individuals aged 80 years or over, use of the program was 41.0%. As to the origin of the prescriptions used by older adults, 46.0% were from the Brazilian Unified Health System. The main reasons for not using the program were: difficulty in getting prescriptions, medication shortage, and ignorance about the medications offered and about the program. Higher age, lower income, presence of chronic diseases, and use of four or more medications were associated with use of the program. CONCLUSIONS It is necessary to expand the knowledge and use of the Brazilian People’s Pharmacy Program, especially among older adults, and to improve the dissemination of its list of medications to users and physicians. Thus it will be possible to reduce spending on long-term medications, which are especially important for this population.

In-shoe plantar pressures and ground reaction forces during overweight adults' overground walking

Purpose: Because walking is highly recommended for prevention and treatment of obesity and some of its biomechanical aspects are not clearly understood for overweight people, we compared the absolute and normalized ground reaction forces (GRF), plantar pressures, and temporal parameters of normal-weight and overweight participants during overground walking. Method: A force plate and an in-shoe pressure system were used to record GRF, plantar pressures (foot divided in 10 regions), and temporal parameters of 17 overweight adults and 17 gender-matched normal-weight adults while walking. Results: With high effect sizes, the overweight participants showed higher absolute medial-lateral and vertical GRF and pressure peaks in the central rearfoot, lateral midfoot, and lateral and central forefoot. However, analyzing normalized (scaled to body weight) data, the overweight participants showed lower vertical and anterior-posterior GRF and lower pressure peaks in the medial rearfoot and hallux, but the lateral forefoot peaks continued to be greater compared with normal-weight participants. Time of occurrence of medial-lateral GRF and pressure peaks in the midfoot occurred later in overweight individuals. Conclusions: The overweight participants adapted their gait pattern to minimize the consequences of the higher vertical and propulsive GRF in their musculoskeletal system. However, they were not able to improve their balance as indicated by medial-lateral GRF. The overweight participants showed higher absolute pressure peaks in 4 out of 10 foot regions. Furthermore, the normalized data suggest that the lateral forefoot in overweight adults was loaded more than the proportion of their extra weight, while the hallux and medial rearfoot were seemingly protected.

TRAILER – e-Portfolio for collecting and recognizing informal learning process and outcomes

Informal learning is becoming more and more important: Nowadays people learn more this way, through the Internet, than in schools or normal trainings. But they don’t get any certificateswhich attest this fact. So they can't show the employer or teacher etc. that they have learned something. TRAILER project aim is to solve this problem by developing a special tool for managing of all competences and skills acquired through informal learning experiences. Both from the perspective of the user and the perspective of an institution or a company. We’ll present the IT tool to show how people can make their informal learning outcomes visible. TRAILER helps users to gather all information about process and outcomes of their informal learning. Users can share this with friends, colleagues or their employees, teachers and so on. They can create an interactive e-portfolio which can be attached to their CV, cover letter or Knowledge Management system etc. After the presentation of the tool we will discuss possible areas and fields to use this tool. Also we would like to discuss all possible use of the tool by the participants and another needs in this area. Moreover we want to discuss other problems in informal learning process, ways to solve the problems and discuss other ideas of different IT tools which could help in informal learning process. During the discussion we’ll use an interactive respond system which can be used on mobile devices: it makes possible for participants to share their opinions individually before knowing another persons' opinion.

Learning with tangible interfaces

Trabalho apresentado no âmbito do Mestrado em Engenharia Informática, como requisito parcial para obtenção do grau de Mestre em Engenharia Informática

Sistema didáctico de baixo custo com FPGA de alta densidade

O uso das Field-Programmable Gate Array tem crescido de forma exponencial. Com isto dito, é importante que os engenheiros electrotécnicos estejam familiarizados com este tipo de tecnologia. Foi com o intuído de passar estas valências para os alunos do ISEP, que surgiu a ideia de criar um sistema didáctico, que permitisse ao alunos aprender a trabalhar com estes dispositivos. O seguinte trabalho iniciou-se com base num estudo das características destes dispositivos e das suas potencialidades, seguido de uma avaliação do que o mercado tem para oferecer. Posteriormente, com base em toda a informação reunida, foi definida a arquitectura do sistema, que levou selecção de dispositivos a incluir no mesmo, e culminando na concepção do esquema eléctrico do sistema e da placa de circuito impresso correspondente ao protótipo do mesmo. As principais directivas para este projecto foram o uso de uma FPGA de alta densidade e a concepção da ferramenta com o custo de projecto o mais reduzido possível.

How market power affects the behaviour of a pumped storage hydro unit in the day-ahead electricity market?

The integration of large amounts of wind energy in power systems raises important operation issues such as the balance between power demand and generation. The pumped storage hydro (PSH) units are seen as one solution for this issue, avoiding the need for wind power curtailments. However, the behavior of a PSH unit might differ considerably when it operates in a liberalized market with some degree of market power. In this regard, a new approach for the optimal daily scheduling of a PSH unit in the day-ahead electricity market was developed and presented in this paper, in which the market power is modeled by a residual inverse demand function with a variable elasticity. The results obtained show that increasing degrees of market power of the PSH unit correspond to decreasing levels of storage and, therefore, the capacity to integrate wind power is considerably reduced under these circumstances.

How human schematization and systematic errors take effect on sketch map formalizations

Dissertation submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of Master of Science in Geospatial Technologies

Brincar para aprender: as intenções do educador

Relatório da Prática Profissional Supervisionada Mestrado em Educação Pré-Escolar

How to Measure the Deterrence Effects of Merger Policy: Frequency or Composition?

We show that the number of merger proposals (frequency-based deterrence) is a more appropriate indicator of underlying changes in merger policy than the relative anti-competitiveness of merger proposals (composition-based deterrence). This has strong implications for the empirical analysis of the deterrence effects of merger policy enforcement, and potential implications regarding how to reduce anti-competitive merger proposals.