Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2008;30(4):182-189
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032008000400005
PURPOSE: to evaluate the anthropometric measures as predictors of cardiovascular and metabolic risk in non-transmissible chronic diseases in postmenopausal women. METHODS: a clinical and sectional study enrolling 120 sedentary postmenopausal women (amenorrhea for at least 12 months, age 45 to 70 years was conducted). Exclusion criteria included insulin-dependent diabetes and use of statins or hormone therapy within the preceding six months. Anthropometric indicators included: weight, height, body mass index (BMI=weight/height²), and waist circumference (WC). Metabolic profiles as total cholesterol (TC), HDL, LDL, triglycerides (TG), glycemia, and insulin were measured and the atherogenic index of plasma (AIP) and Homeostasis model assessment-insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) were calculated. One-way analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Odds Ratio (OR) were used in the statistical analysis. RESULTS: subjects were classified on average as overweight and showed central fat distribution. Overweight and obesity were observed in 76% and abdominal obesity in 87.3% of the patients. On average, TC, LDL and TG levels were higher than recommended in 67.8, 55.9 and 45.8% of the women, respectively, and HDL was low in 40.7%. Values of WC >88 cm were observed in 14.8% of women with normal weight, 62.5% overweight and 100% obesity p>0.05). On average, the values of AIP, TG, and HOMA-IR increased significantly along with values of BMI and WC, while decreased HDL (p<0.05). Among women with WC >88 cm, a risk association was observed with low HDL (OR=5.86; 95%CI=2.31-14.82), with higher TG (OR=2.61; 95%CI=1.18-5.78), with higher AIP (OR=3.42; 95%CI=1.19-9.78) and with IR (OR=3.63; 95%CI=1.27-10.36). There was a risk of low HDL (OR=3.1; 95%CI=1.44-6.85) with increased obesity (BMI>30 kg/m²). CONCLUSIONS: in the postmenopausal women, the simple measure of WC can predict cardiovascular and metabolic risk of non-transmissible chronic diseases.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2008;30(2):67-74
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032008000200004
PURPOSE: to compare the epidemiologic and clinical characteristics, and the follow-up of breast cancer in women diagnosed under and over 40 years of age. METHODS: a retrospective study, case-control type, with analysis of information obtained from medical records of patients attended from January 1994 to June 2004. Cases of intraductal carcinoma and at stage IV were excluded. Three groups were formed: patients under 40 years old at the diagnosis (n=72); patients between 40 and 50 (n=68) and patients over 50 (n=75). Data about age at the moment of diagnosis, lesion largest diameter, clinical stage, type, histological grade, presence of hormonal receptors and state of the lymph nodes were collected and analyzed. The chi2 test was used for qualitative variables. For quantitative variables without normal distribution (such as number of axillary nodes with metastasis and follow-up duration), the Kruskal-Wallis' test was used. For delineating the curves of free-of-disease and global survival, the log-rank test was used. RESULTS: there was no difference among the groups in the stage distribution, concerning the tumoral differentiation grade or in the distribution of histological types, and in the estrogen receptor and c-erb-B2 expression. Difference was found in the RP expression, which was less frequent in the group of patients under 40, than in the group of patients over 50 (36.2% versus 58.4%) respectively. There was no difference among the groups in the mean tumoral diameter (5.1, 4.7 and 5 cm, respectively). There was also no difference among the groups, concerning the rate of axillary lymph node metastasis (63.9, 46.9 and 50%, respectively). The average follow-up was 54 months for all the groups. Disease recurrence occurred in 22.6% of patients under 40 years old, in 60% of patients between 40 and 50, and in 22.6% of patients over 50, with a significant difference among groups (p<0.0001). Death caused by the disease was higher among patients under 40 (46.9%) than among patients between 40 and 50 (26.9%) and over 50 (22.6%), p=0.0019. The logistic analysis showed that "age under 40" and the "presence of more than one metastatic axillary node" were independent death risk factors. CONCLUSIONS: age under 40 is an independent risk factor for breast cancer. The traditional prognostic indicators, such as stage, tumoral diameter, axillary involvement and presence of hormonal receptors are not associated with the disease evolution.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2007;29(11):580-587
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032007001100006
PURPOSE: to investigate women’s age at their first sexual intercourse and its correlation with their present age, human papillomavirus (HPV) infection and cytological abnormalities at Pap smear. METHODS: women from the general population were invited to be screened for cervical cancer and pre-malignant lesions. After answering a behavior questionnaire, they were submitted to screening with cervical cytology and high-risk HPV testing with Hybrid Capture 2 (HC2). This report is part of the Latin American Screening (LAMS) study, that comprises centers from Brazil and Argentina, and the data presented herein refer to the Brazilian women evaluated at the cities of Porto Alegre, São Paulo and Campinas. RESULTS: from 8,649 women that answered the questionnaire, 8,641 reported previous sexual activity and were included in this analysis. The mean age at the interview was 38.1±11.0 years and the mean age at the first sexual intercourse was 18.5±4.0 years. The age at the first sexual intercourse increased along with the age at the interview, i.e., younger women reported they had begun their sexual life earlier than older women (p<0.001). From the total of women who had already begun having sexual intercourse, 3,643 patients were tested for high-risk HPV infection and 17.3% of them had positive results. In all the centers, it became clear that the women with the first sexual intercourse at ages below the mean age of all the population interviewed presented higher rates of HPV infection (20.2%) than the women with the first sexual intercourse at ages above the mean (12.5%) - Odds Ratio (OR) 1.8 (IC95% 1.5-2.2;p<0,001). According to the cytology, the women with first sexual intercourse at ages under the mean, presented higher percentage of abnormal cytology > or = ASC-US (6.7%) than the women with the first sexual intercourse at ages above the mean (4.3%) - OR 1.6 (IC95% 1.3-2.;p<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: the high-risk HPV infection and cytological abnormalities identified during the asymptomatic population screening were significantly associated to the women’s age at the first sexual intercourse. Additionally, we have also identified that the women’s age at the first sexual intercourse has decreased during the last decades, suggesting an important contribution to the increase of HPV infection and the subsequent cervical lesions.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2007;29(10):511-518
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032007001000004
PURPOSE: to analyze the association between maternal pre-gestational nutritional status and maternal outcomes - hypertensive disorders of pregnancy, gestational diabetes, vitamin A deficiency, and anemia - and the newborn outcome - low birth weight. METHODS: cross-sectional study, with 433 adult puerperal women (> 20 years old) and their newborns, attending the Maternidade Escola of Universidade Federal do Rio de Janeiro (UFRJ). Data was collected through interviews and access to their medical records. Maternal pre-gestational nutritional status was established through pre-gestational body mass index according to the cut-offs for adult women defined by the World Health Organization (WHO), in 1995. The association between gestational outcomes and pre-gestational nutritional status was estimated through odds ratio (OR) and a 95% confidence interval (95%CI). RESULTS: frequency of pre-gestational weight deviation (low weight, overweight and obesity) was 31.6%. Considering the pre-gestational nutritional status, overweight and obese women presented a lower weight gain than eutrophic and low-weight women (p<0.05). Women with pre-gestational obesity presented a higher risk of developing hypertensive disordens of pregnancy (OR=6.3; 95%CI=1.9-20.5) and those with low pre-gestational weight were more likely to give birth to low birth weigh infants (OR=7.1; 95%CI=1.9-27.5). There was no evidence of the association between pre-gestational nutritional status and the development of anemia, vitamin A deficiency and gestational diabetes. The mean weight gain among overweight and obese pregnant women was significantly lower when compared to eutrophic and low-weight pregnant women (p=0.002, p=0.049, p=0.002, p=0.009). CONCLUSIONS: the high number of women with pre-gestational weight deviation reinforces the importance of a nutritional guidance that favors a good nutritional state and reduces the risks of maternal and newborn adverse outcomes.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2007;29(8):387-395
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032007000800002
PURPOSE: to identify the main maternal risk factors involved in early-onset neonatal sepsis, evaluating the risk associations between bacterial vaginosis and isolated microorganisms found in the maternal urine culture and in the newborn blood culture in the delivery room. METHODS: randomized longitudinal cohort study involving 302 mothers and their newborns. All neonates were followed up for seven days in order to diagnose sepsis. RESULTS: the outcomes were the following: 16 (5.3%) early-onset neonatal sepsis cases (incidence of 53 cases per 1,000 live births). The average number of prenatal appointments with a doctor was 5.2 (SD=1.8). The number of women with prenatal follow-up was 269 (89.1%), but only 117 (43.4%) of them went to six or more medical appointments, 90 (29.8%) had premature rupture of membranes before delivery, but only 22 (7.3%) had it for more than 18 hours. A total of 123 women (40.7%) complained of vaginal discharge, but only 47 (15.6%) of them had bacterial vaginosis, 92 (30.4%) complained of urinary infection, but only 23 (7.6%) of them had bacteriuria, two (0.7%) had fever at home, 122 (40.4%) received intra-partum antibiotic prophylaxis, 40 (13.2%) had premature delivery and 37 (12.3%) had low-birth-weight babies. Gestational age was a significant risk factor (RR=92.9; IC95%:12.6-684.7), as well as the number of prenatal appointments (RR=10,8; IC95%:1,4-80,8), fever (RR=10,0; IC95%:2,3-43,5), low-birth-weight (RR=21,5; IC95%:7,3-63,2) and early neonatal death (RR=89,4; IC95%:11,16-720,6). A significant difference of 5% was found in the comparison of the averages of lower number of prenatal appointments, prematurity and lower birth weight. CONCLUSIONS: the major microorganism isolated in the newborns’ blood culture was the Streptococcus agalactiae. Prematurity, lack of prenatal follow up and low birth weight were the risk factors more associated with early neonatal sepsis.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 1998;20(8):469-473
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72031998000800007
Purpose: to evaluate the association between second-degree family history of breast cancer and the risk to develop the disease. Methods: case-control study of incident cases. Sixty-six incident breast cancer cases and 198 controls were selected among women who were submitted to mammography in a private clinic between January 1994 and July 1997. Cases and controls were paired regarding age, age at menarche, at first live birth, at menopause, parity, oral contraceptives and use of hormonal replacement therapy. Results: there was no significant difference between cases and controls regarding all risk factors evaluated, besides second-degree family history. Patients with breast cancer were more likely to have second-degree relatives with breast cancer when compared to controls (OR=2.77; 95% CI, 1.03-7.38; p=0.039). Conclusions: malignant neoplasm of the breast is significantly associated with a second-degree family history of this disease.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2007;29(1):3-9
DOI 10.1590/S0100-72032007000100002
PURPOSE: to analyze patients with vulvovaginal candidiasis with respect to risk factors, symptomatology and results of anal culture, to identify the frequency of species of Candida albicans and non-C. albicans, and to correlate anal and vaginal colonization. METHODS: a total of 99 patients were included with suspected vulvovaginal candidiasis, from Natal, Brazil, between May 2003 and May 2005, totalling 294 collections. The clinical material, obtained by vaginal and anal swabs, was seeded on CHROMagar Candida®. The yeasts were identified using the classic method, in addition to the growth test at 42º and 45ºC and the Hypertonic Saboraud broth test. Symptomatology, risk factors and anal colonization were assessed according to positive or negative culture for Candida spp. The cultures positive for C. albicans at the two sites were compared with other results encountered. Yates’ chi2 test and Fisher’s exact test were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: the most frequent was C. albicans in 69% of the cases. Wearing tight and/or synthetic underclothing, the presence of allergic diseases, the occurrence of itching, leukorrhea and hyperemia showed a significant association with positive culture for Candida spp in the vagina. The chance of a patient with positive anal colonization to present with concomitant positive vaginal colonization was 2.8 and 4.9 times greater for Candida spp and C. albicans, respectively. The risk of a patient with anal culture positive for C. albicans to present with positive vaginal colonization was 3.7 times greater when compared to non-C. albicans species. CONCLUSIONS: the most common species was C. albicans, and a relevant association between vaginal cultures positive for Candida spp and the use of tight and/or synthetic underclothing, allergic diseases, the occurrence of pruritus, leukorrhea and erythema was observed (p<0.05). Positive anal colonization concomitant with vaginal colonization was significant, suggesting possible vaginal contamination from the anus.