Influenza: temporal trends in mortality, hospitalization, and vaccination in the older adults population aged 60 and more years, Brazil, 2000–2023 Erly Catarina Moura, Juan Jose Cortez-Escalante, Fabrício Vieira Cavalcante, Leonor Maria Pacheco Santos, Wallace Enrico Boaventura Gonçalves Dos Santos Frontiers in Public Health, 2025 ObjectiveTo evaluate the temporal evolution of mortality rates, hospitalization, and vaccination coverage for influenza among the population ≥ 60 years of age in Brazil from 2000 to 2023. Methods A descriptive study with secondary and anonymous data from the Ministry of Health was collected year by year to calculate the rates. Data on the composition of the vaccines were also obtained.ResultsThe data pointed to: (1) an increase in deaths from influenza, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic, but a decrease in 2023 with the registration of 2.5 deaths per 100 thousand inhabitants; (2) reduction in hospitalizations for influenza, but increase during the Covid-19 pandemic and decrease in 2023, with a record of 22 hospitalizations per 100 thousand inhabitants; (3) linear growth in vaccination coverage, reaching 99.4% in 2019, exceeding 100% in 2020 and a sharp drop in subsequent years, reaching the lowest value in the series (63.3%) in 2023; and (4) formulation of vaccines containing three different strains in all campaigns.ConclusionThe impact of Covid-19 on mortality and hospitalization rates from 2020 beyond is evident. The role of the federal government in controlling pandemics and the importance of vaccination, among other measures, are highlighted. Currently, the challenge is to increase immunization against influenza, a disease with low mortality and hospitalization rates for the population of this study, but with high transmissibility in the general population, with an impact not only on health, but also on social and economic wealth.
SARS CoV-2 seroprevalence and diagnostic accuracy during a COVID-19 outbreak in a major penitentiary complex in Brazil, June to July 2020 Fernando Augusto Gouvea-Reis, Danniely Carolinne Soares da Silva, Lairton Souza Borja, Patrícia de Oliveira Dias, Jadher Percio, et al. International Journal of Prisoner Health, 2023 Purpose This study aims to estimate the overall SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and evaluate the accuracy of an antibody rapid test compared to a reference serological assay during a COVID-19 outbreak in a prison complex housing over 13,000 prisoners in Brasília. Design/methodology/approach The authors obtained a randomized, stratified representative sample of each prison unit and conducted a repeated serosurvey among prisoners between June and July 2020, using a lateral-flow immunochromatographic assay (LFIA). Samples were also retested using a chemiluminescence enzyme immunoassay (CLIA) to compare SARS-CoV-2 seroprevalence and 21-days incidence, as well as to estimate the overall infection fatality rate (IFR) and determine the diagnostic accuracy of the LFIA test. Findings This study identified 485 eligible individuals and enrolled 460 participants. Baseline and 21-days follow-up seroprevalence were estimated at 52.0% (95% CI 44.9–59.0) and 56.7% (95% CI 48.2–65.3) with LFIA; and 80.7% (95% CI 74.1–87.3) and 81.1% (95% CI 74.4–87.8) with CLIA, with an overall IFR of 0.02%. There were 78.2% (95% CI 66.7–89.7) symptomatic individuals among the positive cases. Sensitivity and specificity of LFIA were estimated at 43.4% and 83.3% for IgM; 46.5% and 91.5% for IgG; and 59.1% and 77.3% for combined tests. Originality/value The authors found high seroprevalence of anti-SARS-CoV-2 antibodies within the prison complex. The occurrence of asymptomatic infection highlights the importance of periodic mass testing in addition to case-finding of symptomatic individuals; however, the field performance of LFIA tests should be validated. This study recommends that vaccination strategies consider the inclusion of prisoners and prison staff in priority groups.
Cost of providing doctors in remote and vulnerable areas: Programa Mais Médicos in Brazil Revista Panamericana De Salud Publica Pan American Journal of Public Health, 2018
A proposal for a new Brazilian six-item version of the edinburgh postnatal depression scale Maicon Rodrigues Albuquerque, Humberto Corrêa, Tiago Castro e Couto, Wallace Santos, Marco Aurelio Romano-Silva, et al. Trends in Psychiatry and Psychotherapy, 2017 Introduction: Factor analysis of the Edinburgh Postnatal Depression Scale (EPDS) could result in a shorter and easier to handle screening tool. Therefore, the aim of this study was to check and compare the metrics of two different 6-item EPDS subscales. Methods: We administered the EPDS to a total of 3,891 women who had given birth between 1 and 3 months previously. We conducted confirmatory and exploratory factor analyses and plotted receiver-operating characteristics (ROC) curves to, respectively, determine construct validity, scale items' fit to the data, and ideal cutoff scores for the short versions. Results: A previously defined 6-item scale did not exhibit construct validity for our sample. Nevertheless, we used exploratory factor analysis to derive a new 6-item scale with very good construct validity. The area under the ROC curve of the new 6-item scale was 0.986 and the ideal cutoff score was ≥ 6. Conclusions: The new 6-item scale has adequate psychometric properties and similar ROC curve values to the10-item version and offers a means of reducing the cost and time taken to administer the instrument.
Factors related to health services determine breastfeeding within one hour of birth in the Federal District of Brazil, 2011 Naíza Nayla Bandeira de Sá, Muriel Bauermann Gubert, Wallace dos Santos, Leonor Maria Pacheco Santos Revista Brasileira De Epidemiologia, 2016 RESUMO: Objetivo: Identificar os fatores associados ao aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida. Métodos: Estudo transversal, realizado junto às mães e crianças menores de um ano de idade, que compareceram à segunda etapa da campanha de poliomielite no Distrito Federal, Brasil, em 2011. A amostra estudada foi de 1.027 pares (mães e filhos). Considerou-se como variável dependente o aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida e, como variáveis independentes, as características sociodemográficas da mãe, assistência ao pré-natal, parto e puerpério, referência à violência física, verbal e negligência no momento do parto e saúde da criança. As razões de prevalência (RP), brutas e ajustadas, foram utilizadas como medida de associação, calculadas por regressão de Poisson. Resultados: Foi encontrada prevalência de 77,3% de aleitamento materno na primeira hora de vida. Não ter realizado pré-natal de forma adequada (RP = 0,72), ter feito parto cesáreo (RP = 0,88) e mãe e filho não permanecerem em alojamento conjunto após o parto (RP = 0,28) foram fatores que interferiram negativamente no aleitamento materno na primeira hora. Nenhuma característica materna e da criança esteve associada ao aleitamento materno na primeira hora. Conclusão: Fatores ligados aos serviços de saúde, como assistência ao pré-natal, tipo de parto e alojamento conjunto, interferiram no aleitamento materno na primeira hora, indicando que as práticas dos serviços e dos profissionais de saúde foram os principais determinantes do aleitamento materno na primeira hora.
