Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(7):317-324
Cardiovascular disease (CVD) is the leading cause of death in post menopausal women, and inflammation is involved in the atherosclerosis process.
to assess whether dietary pattern, metabolic profile, body composition and physical activity are associated with low-grade chronic inflammation according to highsensitivity C-reactive protein (hs-CRP) levels in postmenopausal women.
ninety-five postmenopausal participants, with no evidence of clinical disease, underwent anthropometric, metabolic and hormonal assessments. Usual dietary intake was assessed with a validated food frequency questionnaire, habitual physical activity was measured with a digital pedometer, and body composition was estimated by bioelectrical impedance analysis. Patients with hs-CRP ≥ 10 mg/L or using hormone therapy in the last three months before the study were excluded from the analysis. Participants were stratified according to hs-CRP lower or ≥3 mg/L. Sedentary lifestyle was defined as walking fewer than 6 thousand steps a day. Two-tailed Student's t-test, Wilcoxon-Mann-Whitney U or Chi-square (x 2) test were used to compare differences between groups. A logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds ratio of variables for high hs-CRP.
participants with hs-CRP ≥ 3 mg/L had higher body mass index (BMI), body fat percentage, waist circumference (WC), triglycerides, glucose, and homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) (p = 0.01 for all variables) than women with hs-CRP <3 mg/L. Also, women with hs-CRP ≥3 mg/L had a higher glycemic load diet and lower protein intake. Prevalence of sedentary lifestyle (p < 0.01) and metabolic syndrome (p < 0.01) was higher in women with hs-CRP ≥3 mg/L. After adjustment for age and time since menopause, the odds ratio for hs- CRP ≥3 mg/L was higher for sedentary lifestyle (4.7, 95% confidence interval [95%CI] 1.4-15.5) and carbohydrate intake (2.9, 95%CI 1.1-7.7).
sedentary lifestyle and high-carbohydrate intake were associated with low-grade chronic inflammation and cardiovascular risk in postmenopause.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):293-300
To assess the prevalence of depressive symptoms and their association with social, psychological, behavioral and obstetric characteristics in pregnant women.
This is a cross-sectional study. The sample consisted of 375 pregnant women who attended prenatal clinics in two public maternity hospitals located in the city of Goiania, Brazil. To testify the depressive symptoms, we used the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). A descriptive statistical analysis was performed using programs such as CDC EPI-INFO(tm), version 7.1.5, and Statistical Package for Social Sciences (IBM SPSS), version 21.0.
the patients had probable depressive symptoms (15.47%) and possible depressive symptoms (25.33%). The bivariate analysis showed a significant association among "depressive symptoms" and the following variables: "single or divorced" (prevalence ratio, PR = 2.08; 95% confidence interval, CI = 1.26 to 3.44); "physical activity during pregnancy" (PR = 3.96; 95%CI = 1.28 to 12.31); exposure to "psychological/emotional" violence (PR = 4.74; 95%CI = 2.94 to 7.64); "prior mental problem" (PR = 2.66; 95%CI =1.49 to 4.73) and "obstetric complications during pregnancy" (PR = 2.53; 95%CI = 1.55 to 4.13). The multivariate analysis confirmed the association of these depressive symptoms with the variables "suffered psychological/emotional violence" (odds ratio, OR = 5.821; 95%CI = 2.939 to 11.528); "physical activity during pregnancy" (OR = 3.885; 95%CI = 1.060 to 14.231); "obstetric complications during pregnancy" (OR = 2.442; 95%CI = 1.233 to 4.834) and "single or divorced" (OR = 2.943; 95%CI = 1.326 to 6.533).
the prevalence of depressive symptoms among pregnant women is of 15.47%, and emotional violence is the main factor associated with gestational depression.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):287-292
betatrophin has been reported to boost β cell expansion in insulin resistant states. Pregnancy is a well-recognized physiological state of insulin resistance. Betatrophin levels in pregnant women and their relationships with metabolic variables remain to be elucidated.
A total of 49 pregnant women and 31 age-matched unpregnant women with normal glucose regulation (UP-NGR) were included. Among these subjects, according to results from 75 g oral glucose tolerance test (OGTT), 22 women were diagnosed as having gestational diabetes mellitus ( GDM ).
Our study found that pregnant women, regardless of their glucose regulation status, had remarkably higher triglycerides (TG), total cholesterol (TC), fasting insulin (FINS), homeostasis model assessment of insulin resistance (HOMA-IR) and homeostasis model assessment of β-cell function (HOMA-β). However, GDM patients had much lower HOMA-β compared with those of pregnant women with normal glucose regulation (P-NGR). Participants of the P-NGR group had almost 4 times higher levels of betatrophin than those of the UP-NGR group. Although betatrophin levels were lower in the GDM group than those of the P-NGR group, the difference did not reach statistical significance. Spearman correlation analysis showed that betatrophin levels were positively and significantly associated with total cholesterol, triglycerides, highdensity lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-c), FINS and HOMA-β. However, adjustments of TC, TG and HDL-c eliminated the association between HOMA-β and betatrophin.
Pregnant women have significantly higher betatrophin levels in comparison to unpregnant women. Betatrophin levels are positively and significantly associated with β cell function and lipid levels. Furthermore, lipids may contribute to
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):280-286
Neoadjuvant chemotherapy (NAC) is the standard treatment for locally advanced breast cancer. However, some tumors will not respond to this treatment due to histological and molecular features. The protein EZH2 (enhancer of zest homolog 2) is a histone methyltransferase that is correlated with poorly differentiated breast carcinomas and aggressive tumor behavior.
The present study evaluated the association between EZH2 expression and response to NAC, and its correlation with HER2 overexpression, estrogen and progesterone receptors (ER, PR) and Ki-67 proliferation index.
A total of 60 patients with locally advanced breast cancer treated with NAC were selected for this study. Twenty-three paraffin blocks had not enough material for tissue resection, and were not evaluated. A tissue microarray based in immunohistochemistry (IHC) analysis of EZH2 was performed for the remaining 37 specimens. Patients were divided into two groups based on response to NAC.
EZH2 expression was significantly associated with markers of poor prognosis such as ER negativity (p = 0.001), PR negativity (p = 0.042) and high Ki-67 proliferation index (p = 0.002). High EZH2 expression was not correlated with the response to NAC.
Our data suggested that EZH2 protein expression may not correlate with the clinical response to NAC. Other studies with more patients are needed to confirm this observation.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):273-279
To verify sociodemographic factors associated with the occurrence of abortion in women of reproductive age, in areas covered by the Family Health Strategy (FHS), a program from the Brazilian Ministry of Health.
A cross-sectional study using household surveys of 350 women aged 15 to 49. The report of abortion was a variable indicator, and sociodemographic aspects were covariables. Prevalence ratio (PR) and respective 95% confidence intervals were used to estimate the magnitude of the associations.
There were associations among age, civil status, race/color, and religion; an increase in the prevalence of lower levels of education, age less than 20, and student status were protective factors.
The association between sociodemographic characteristics and the report of abortion is attributed to the fact that there is a lack at the FHS in the availability of fundamental healthcare services for young women; these findings call for action to guarantee the access to information about contraceptives and guidance to decrease the risk of unplanned pregnancies and abortions.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(6):266-272
Some studies have investigated the influence of hormonal deficits and menopausal status in muscle disorders of women. However, it has not been investigated the relationship of both climacteric symptoms and the perception of quality of life with physical performance.
To evaluate the correlation of menopausal symptoms and quality of life with physical performance in middle-aged women.
This cross-sectional study was performed from April to November 2013 in the municipality of Parnamirim, in the Brazilian state, Rio Grande do Norte. The sample was composed of 497 women aged 40-65 years. The Menopause Rating Scale (MRS) and the Utian Quality of Life (UQOL) questionnaire were used to evaluate menopausal symptoms and quality of life respectively. Measures of physical performance included handgrip strength, knee extensor and flexor strengths (using an isometric dynamometer), gait speed, and chair stand test. The correlation between menopausal symptoms and quality of life with physical performance was assessed by Pearson's correlation coefficient with significance set at p< 0.05 and a confidence interval of 95 %.
There was a significant negative correlation between handgrip strength and somatic MRS score (p= 0.002) and total MRS score (p= 0.03). There was a significant correlation between knee flexor strength and sit-to-stand time and all menopausal symptom areas (p< 0.05), except psychological symptoms. There was a positive correlation between physical performance of the knee flexors and quality of life items including occupational (p= 0.001), emotional (p= 0.005), and total UQOL (p= 0.01) , but a negative correlation with sit-to-stand time and all quality of life domains (p< 0.05).
A greater intensity of menopausal symptoms and worse quality of life were related with worse physical performance. Thus, preventive measures should be implemented to avoid adverse effects on physical performance at more advanced ages.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(5):246-252
to evaluate the quality of life of HIV positive (HIVþ) pregnant women using the HIV/AIDS Target Quality of Life (HAT-QoL) instrument.
cross-sectional study, conducted between May 2014 and November 2015 , with HIVþ pregnant women selected by convenience sampling. Sociodemographic and behavioral data were collected through interviews, and the HAT-QoL questionnaire was applied. Clinical and laboratorial data were collected from medical records.
twenty-seven pregnant women participated in the study. Their mean age was 27 years (standard deviation - SD: 7.3). The majority (59%) had up to 8 years of education, 52% identified themselves as white, 56% were unemployed, and 59% had a household income higher than the minimum wage. The mean infection time by the virus was 68.4 months (5.7 years). The majority (74%) were contaminated with HIV through sexual intercourse, and 67% declared not having a HIVþrelative. Regarding the use of condoms, 41% reported using them sporadically, and the same number did not have proper knowledge about them. Only 23 patients (85%) reported having been prescribed antiretrovirals. Fourteen (64%) had a CD4 count higher than 500 cells/mm3, and 13 pregnant women (59%) had an undetectable viral load. The scores from the quality of life questionnaire dimensions that were more affected are: infection "disclosure concerns" (mean: 39.8; SD: 27.1), followed by "financial concerns" (mean: 49.1; SD: 36), and "HIV acceptance" (mean: 49.1; SD: 35.8). The dimension with the best score was "medication concerns" (mean: 80.8; SD: 26.5).
quality of life has been increasingly used as a clinical outcome evaluation parameter. The results of this study contribute to the establishment of interventions based on the needs of HIVþ pregnant women.
Summary
Revista Brasileira de Ginecologia e Obstetrícia. 2016;38(5):239-245
to evaluate the agreement between the clinical and pathological stagings of breast cancer based on clinical and molecular features.
this was a cross-sectional study, in which clinical, epidemiological and pathological data were collected from 226 patients who underwent surgery at the Prof. Dr. José Aristodemo Pinotti Women's Hospital (CAISM/Unicamp) from January 2008 to September 2010. Patients were staged clinically and pathologically, and were classified as: understaged, when the clinical staging was lower than the pathological staging; correctly staged, when the clinical staging was the same as the pathological one; and overstaged, when the clinical staging was greater than the pathological staging.
understaged patients were younger (52.2 years; p < 0.01) and more symptomatic at diagnosis (p = 0.04) when compared with correctly or overstaged patients. Clinicopathological surrogate subtype, menopausal status, parity, hormone replace therapy and histology were not associated with differences in staging. Women under 57 years of age were clinically understaged mainly due to underestimation of T ( tumor staging) (p < 0.001), as were the premenopausal women (p < 0.01). Patients whose diagnosis was made due to clinical complaints, and not by screening, were clinically understaged due to underestimation of N (lymph nodes staging) (p < 0.001).
the study shows that the clinicopathological surrogate subtype is not associated with differences in staging, while younger women diagnosed because of clinical complaints tend to have their breast tumors understaged during clinical evaluation.