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Prior research has found that places and people that are more economically disadvantaged have higher rates and risks, respectively, of sexually transmitted infections (STIs). Economic disadvantages at the level of places and people, however, are themselves influenced by economic policies. To enhance the policy relevance of STI research, we explore, for the first time, the relationship between state-level minimum wage policies and STI rates among women in a cohort of 66 large metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) in the US spanning 2003–2015. Our annual state-level minimum wage measure was adjusted for inflation and cost of living. STI outcomes (rates of primary and secondary syphilis, gonorrhea and chlamydia per 100,000 women) were obtained from the CDC. We used multivariable hierarchical linear models to test the hypothesis that higher minimum wages would be associated with lower STI rates. We preliminarily explored possible socioeconomic mediators of the minimum wage/STI relationship (e.g., MSA-level rates of poverty, employment, and incarceration). We found that a $1 increase in the price-adjusted minimum wage over time was associated with a 19.7% decrease in syphilis rates among women and with an 8.5% drop in gonorrhea rates among women. The association between minimum wage and chlamydia rates did not meet our cutpoint for substantive significance. Preliminary mediation analyses suggest that MSA-level employment among women may mediate the relationship between minimum wage and gonorrhea. Consistent with an emerging body of research on minimum wage and health, our findings suggest that increasing the minimum wage may have a protective effect on STI rates among women. If other studies support this finding, public health strategies to reduce STIs among women should include advocating for a higher minimum wage. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Some employers are not obligated to pay at least minimum wages to all employees. U.S. farm employers comprise one of these groups. Employees of large farms and H-2A workers (lawfully admitted, nonimmigrant workers performing temporary or seasonal agricultural work) are protected by minimum wage legislation, while some migrant workers (often those paid piece rates) are exempt. U.S. agriculture also is characterized by a large percentage of unauthorized workers who may or may not earn above minimum wage. Following insights from dual labor market theory and from theories of the signaling capacity of the minimum wage, we compare labor market outcomes in the agricultural sector (where minimum wage coverage is limited) to low wage/skill non-agricultural sectors (where minimum wage coverage is more complete) nationally using data from the Current Population Survey. We then extend our analysis to a detailed state-level case study of agricultural workers in California using a representative survey of employed farm workers. Results suggest wage increases for covered workers that exceed those for uncovered workers, but insignificant differences in hours worked. This is the first study to our knowledge to examine the impacts of minimum wage coverage on agricultural workers relative to other workers for the U.S. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Although leprosy is largely curable with multidrug therapy, incomplete treatment limits therapeutic effectiveness and is an important obstacle to disease control. To inform efforts to improve treatment completion rates, we aimed to identify the geographic and socioeconomic factors associated with leprosy treatment default in Brazil. Methodology/Principal findings: Using individual participant data collected in the Brazilian national registries for social programs and notifiable diseases and linked as part of the 100 Million Brazilian Cohort, we evaluated the odds of treatment default among 20,063 leprosy cases diagnosed and followed up between 2007 and 2014. We investigated geographic and socioeconomic risk factors using a multivariate hierarchical analysis and carried out additional stratified analyses by leprosy subtype and geographic region. Over the duration of follow-up, 1,011 (5.0%) leprosy cases were observed to default from treatment. Treatment default was markedly increased among leprosy cases residing in the North (OR = 1.57; 95%CI 1.25–1.97) and Northeast (OR = 1.44; 95%CI 1.17–1.78) regions of Brazil. The odds of default were also higher among cases with black ethnicity (OR = 1.29; 95%CI 1.01–1.69), no income (OR = 1.41; 95%CI 1.07–1.86), familial income ≤ 0.25 times Brazilian minimum wage (OR = 1.42; 95%CI 1.13–1.77), informal home lighting/no electricity supply (OR = 1.53; 95%CI 1.28–1.82), and household density of > 1 individual per room (OR = 1.35; 95%CI 1.10–1.66). Conclusions: The findings of the study indicate that the frequency of leprosy treatment default varies regionally in Brazil and provide new evidence that adverse socioeconomic conditions may represent important barriers to leprosy treatment completion. These findings suggest that interventions to address socioeconomic deprivation, along with continued efforts to improve access to care, have the potential to improve leprosy treatment outcomes and disease control. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Introduction: Leukemia is the most common cancer in children and has the highest rates of incidence in industrialized countries, followed by developing countries. This epidemiologic profile can mainly be attributed to the availability of diagnostic resources. In Brazil, leukemia diagnosis is a challenge due to financial viability, lack of hemovigilance services in isolated regions and the vast size of the territory. Its incidence in the state of Amazonas has been increasing since 2010. Therefore, this study aims to describe the epidemiological pattern and spatial distribution of patients with acute lymphoid leukemia and acute myeloid leukemia in Amazonas and identify the predictors of comorbidity and death. Materials and methods: A retrospective cross-sectional study was carried out based on patients’ data which was obtained from the database of a referral center for the period of 2005 to 2015. Variables included age, gender, ethnicity, civil status, schooling, income, location of residence, subtype of leukemia, comorbidities, and date of death. The spatial distribution was performed using QGIS v.2.18. Stata software was used for univariable and multivariable logistic regression to evaluate the association between both comorbidities and death for all characteristic groups of ALL and AML. Results: The group that was studied was composed of 577 ALL and 266 AML patients. For both, most patients were male, with a schooling period of 1–4 years, received<1 minimum wage, and lived mostly in Manaus, followed by the municipality of Tefé. There was no association between the development of comorbidities and analyzed variables in patients with ALL. AML patients that were >60 years old and with family history of the disease had the highest risk of developing comorbidities (OR = 5.06, p = 0.038; OR = 2.44, p = 0.041, respectively). Furthermore, patients with ALL and in the 41-50-year age group had a higher risk of death (OR = 31.12; p = 0.001). No association between death and explanatory variables were found in patients with AML. In addition, significant difference was observed in time to death (chi2 = 4,098.32, p = 0.000), with 50% of patients with AML dying within two years after diagnosis, whereas in ALL, this percentual of death only is reached in approximately 5 years. Conclusion: Our study describes the data of patients with acute leukemia in Amazonas, a remote region in the north of Brazil. In addition, it highlights the importance of hemovigilance in an Amazon region state, while focusing on peripheral areas which don't have prevention, diagnosis and treatment tools for this disease. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This cross-sectional study evaluated the quality of life and associated factors of climacteric women in Brazil using a random and representative sample of women assisted by primary care professionals. We investigated the variables using the Menopause-Specific Quality of Life Questionnaire, MENQOL, whose mean scores were compared using Mann–Whitney and Kruskal–Wallis tests according to the sample characteristics. The variables associated with the outcomes in univariate analyses with a p≤0.2 were jointly evaluated using multiple linear regression. In this study, 849 women ranging in age from 40 to 65 years were evaluated. The predictors of poor quality of life in the vasomotor domain were women with severe climacteric symptoms (p<0.001), increased Body Mass Index (BMI) (p = 0.006), sleep (p = 0.022), and postmenopausal (p<0.001) alterations. For the psychosocial domain, the associated variables were severe climacteric symptoms (p<0.001) and sleep alterations (p<0.001); for the physical domain, the associated variables were severe climacteric symptoms (p<0.001), increased BMI (p<0.001), sleep (p<0.001), and postmenopausal (p<0.001) alterations. Severe climacteric symptoms, low sleep quality, increased BMI, and postmenopausal status were factors that were more associated with impairments in quality of life. With the increase in life expectancy, we suggest that greater attention should be paid to women’s quality of life associated with climacteric symptoms. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective: To evaluate the labeling preferences of medication users and characterize their perceptions of the comprehensibility and readability of medication labels. Methods: We conducted a population-based cross-sectional study of medication users aged 18 years or older in 10 Brazilian capital cities. Perceptions of the comprehensibility and readability of medication labels in relation to sociodemographic characteristics were evaluated by Poisson regression models with robust variance. Labeling preferences were assessed through questions addressing possible improvements and through the use of digitally simulated packages. Results: Of 6,255 medication users interviewed, more than half found it difficult or very difficult to read (50.8%) and/or understand (52.0%) medication labels. Difficulties were more pronounced for participants aged 40 years or older, with lower levels of education, and non-whites. Increasing the font size (93.7%), describing the indications for use (95.9%) and contraindications (95.6%) on the label, and highlighting the expiration date (96.3%) were the most widely accepted improvements. In the evaluation of simulated packages, users preferred factors that improved readability, such as increased font size, use of graphic elements and color to highlight the concentration of the active ingredient, and contrast between the font color and background. The new simulated package design, with increased font size, color to highlight the concentration and contrast between the font color and background, was preferred over the standard design by 77.0% of participants. Conclusion: Based on users’ perceptions, increased font size and use of graphic elements and color to emphasize critical information, such as expiration date and concentration, are factors that contribute to making medication labels clearer to users. Pharmaceutical industries and policy makers should consider these items when developing labels and defining policies on this issue. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Purpose: To quantify costs to patients of accessing HIV care prior to ART initiation. Materials and methods: Using a cross-sectional study design, costs incurred by HIV-positive patients prior to ART initiation were estimated at urban primary healthcare facilities in South Africa. Costs included direct costs, indirect (productivity) costs, carer and coping costs (value of assets sold and money borrowed). The percentage of individual income spent on healthcare was calculated and compared by patient income tertiles and CD4 count strata. Results: 289 patients (69% female, mean age 37 (SD: 10) years, median CD4 317 (IQR: 138–494) cells/mm3) were interviewed. The total mean monthly cost of pre-ART care was US$15.71. Indirect costs accounted for $2.59 (16.49%) of this when time was valued using the patient’s reported income. The mean monthly patient costs were $31.61, $12.78, $12.65 and $11.93 for those with a CD4 count <100, 101–350, 351–500 and >500 cells/mm3 respectively. The percentage of individual income spent on healthcare was 7.25% for those with a CD4 count <100 cells/mm3 and 4.05% for those with a CD4 count >500 cells/mm3. Conclusions: Despite the provision of charge-free services at public clinics, care prior to ART initiation can be costly, particularly for the poor and unemployed. Our study adds to the growing body of evidence that highlights the need to consider policies to reduce the economic barriers to HIV service access, particularly for low income or unwell patient groups, such as improving access to disability grants. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We investigated the prevalence of maternal dissatisfaction with their child's body size and its associated factors among mothers of first- to third-grade elementary school students in private schools in the Federal District, Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with 548 mother-schoolchildren pairs. We measured children’s weight and height, and collected their mother’s sociodemographic data and Body Mass Index using an online questionnaire. We also verified maternal body dissatisfaction and maternal dissatisfaction with their child's body size using Shape Scales. Most mothers (50.5%) were dissatisfied with their child's body size. Mothers of boys (Adjusted OR = 2.85) were more likely to want a larger silhouette for their child, while mothers of girls (Adjusted OR = 3.18), overweight (Adjusted OR = 24.83) and obese (Adjusted OR = 189.86) children were more likely to want a thinner silhouette for their child. A positive correlation was observed between maternal dissatisfaction with their own body and maternal dissatisfaction with their children's body size (rs = 0.178). There was a high prevalence of maternal dissatisfaction with their child's body size, particularly among mothers of overweight and obese children. Additional studies should be conducted to better understand the influence of this dissatisfaction on maternal practices and attitudes related to their child’s body, food consumption, and lifestyle. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hookworm-related cutaneous larva migrans (HrCLM) is a neglected parasitic skin disease, widespread in resource-poor communities in tropical and subtropical countries. Incidence and risk factors have never been investigated in a cohort study. Methodology/Principal findings: To understand the seasonal epidemiology of HrCLM, an open cohort of 476 children in a resource-poor community in Manaus, Brazil was examined for HrCLM monthly over a period of 6 months. Monthly prevalence and intensity of infection were correlated with the amount of monthly precipitation. Multivariable Cox regression analysis indicated male sex (hazard ratio [HR] 3.29; 95% confidence interval [CI] 1.95–5.56), walking barefoot on sandy ground (HR 2.30; 95% CI 1.03–5.16), poverty (HR 2.13; 95% CI 1.09–4.17) and age between 10 and 14 years (HR 1.87; 95% CI 1.01–3.46) as predictors of HrCLM. Monthly incidence rates ranged between 0.21 and 1.05 cases per person-year with an overall incidence of 0.52 per person-year. Conclusions/Significance: HrCLM is a frequent parasitic skin disease in this resource-poor community. Every second child theoretically becomes infected during one year. Boys, 10 to 14 years old, belonging to the poorest households of the community, are the most vulnerable population group. Even in the tropical monsoonal climate of Amazonia there is a considerable seasonal variation with monthly incidence and number of lesions peaking in the rainy season. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Venous ulcers constitute an important public health problem as they can cause disability with consequences for multiple dimensions of quality of life. Objective: To describe the quality of life in patients with venous leg ulcer treated in primary care in two cities from Brazil and Portugal. Methods: This was a cross-sectional comparative study with a non-probabilistic sample of 171 patients with venous leg ulcers who were treated in primary care in two cities from Brazil and Portugal, namely, Natal and Évora. A form covering sociodemographic and health data and the Medical Outcomes Study 36-Item Short-Form Health Survey were used, and descriptive and inferential analyses were performed. Results: Significant differences in age and income were observed between the two samples. Patients with venous leg ulcer from Brazil had lower income and were younger than those from Portugal. Quality of life scores were significantly higher in Portugal for the physical aspects, pain, and social functioning, among domains, and for the physical health dimension and total score of QOL. Conclusion: The quality of life was better in Portugal than in Brazil and the differences between the countries need further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Brazil is the only country in Latin America that has adopted a national health system. This causes differences in access to health among Latin American countries and induces noticeable migration to Brazilian regions to seek healthcare. This phenomenon has led to difficulties in the control and elimination of diseases related to poverty, such as leprosy. The aim of this study was to evaluate social determinants and their relationship with the risk of leprosy, as well as to examine the temporal trend of its occurrence in a Brazilian municipality located on the tri-border area between Brazil, Paraguay and Argentina. Methods: This ecological study investigated newly-diagnosed cases of leprosy between 2003 and 2015. Exploratory analysis of the data was performed through descriptive statistics. For spatial analysis, geocoding of the data was performed using spatial scan statistic techniques to obtain the Relative Risk (RR) for each census tract, with their respective 95% confidence intervals calculated. The Bivariate Moran I test, Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) and Geographically Weighted Regression (GWR) models were applied to analyze the spatial relationships of social determinants and leprosy risk. The temporal trend of the annual coefficient of new cases was obtained through the Prais-Winsten regression. A standard error of 5% was considered statistically significant (p < 0.05). Results: Of the 840 new cases identified in the study, there was a predominance of females (n = 427, 50.8%), of white race/color (n = 685, 81.6%), age range 15 to 59 years (n = 624, 74.3%), and incomplete elementary education (n = 504, 60.0%). The results obtained from multivariate analysis revealed that the proportion of households with monthly nominal household income per capita greater than 1 minimum wage (β = 0.025, p = 0.036) and people of brown race (β = -0.101, p = 0.024) were statistically-significantly associated with risk of illness due to leprosy. These results also confirmed that social determinants and risk of leprosy were significantly spatially non-stationary. Regarding the temporal trend, a decrease of 4% (95% CI [-0.053, -0.033], p = 0.000) per year was observed in the rate of detection of new cases of leprosy. Conclusion: The social determinants income and race/color were associated with the risk of leprosy. The study’s highlighting of these social determinants can contribute to the development of public policies directed toward the elimination of leprosy in the border region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Using a theoretical approach grounded in implicit bias and stereotyping theories, this study examines the relationship between observable physical characteristics (skin tone, height, and gender) and earnings, as measured by income. Combining separate streams of research on the influence of these three characteristics, we draw from a sample of 31,356 individual-year observations across 4,340 individuals from the National Longitudinal Study of Youth (NLSY) 1997. We find that skin tone, height, and gender interact such that taller males with darker skin tone attain lower earnings; those educated beyond high school, endowed with higher cognitive ability, and at the higher income level (>75th percentile) had even lower levels of earnings relative to individuals with lighter skin tone. The findings have implications for implicit bias theories, stereotyping, and the human capital literature within the fields of management, applied psychology, and economics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: In addition to the deleterious effect on health, there is considerable economic and psychosocial morbidity associated with primary immunodeficiency diseases (PID). Also, the cost of a late diagnosis frequently results in a heavy disease burden on the patient. The objective of this study was to collect and analyze data on patients with PID in the state of Guanajuato in Mexico, to indirectly estimate the burden of the disease. Methods: An observational, longitudinal, and comparative study was conducted. A total of 44 patients were included and grouped according to the updated classification of PID. Results: The median time elapsed from the onset of symptoms to the reference and diagnosis by a tertiary hospital was of 2.17 (IQR = 6.44) years. Before diagnosis, the number of hospitalizations/year per patient was 0.86 (IQR = 2.28), the number of visit to emergency room/year per patient was 0.92 (IQR = 1.77), the number of doctor’s visits/year per patient was 15 (IQR = 11.25), whereas the school/work absence days per patient were reported in 52.72 (IQR = 56.35) days per year. After diagnosis, 20 patients (45.45%) received IVIG replacement therapy, and all of them presented a significant improvement (p <0.05) in all the mentioned variables. Characteristically, even when patients with PID received IVIG, there was still an important disease burden when comparing them against healthy controls. Complications secondary to PID were detected in 19 patients (43.18%). The reported overall mortality rate was 6.82% (n = 3). Conclusions: We were able to indirectly estimate an important disease burden in patients with PID; which is considered to be preventable, at least in part, with effective interventions like health planning, research, collaboration with primary care providers, and generation of policies and practices, in order to improve the quality of life and care of families with PID. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Maternal perception of child's nutritional status has a potential impact on the identification, prevention, and treatment of childhood overweight. Thus, the aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence of misperception and factors associated with maternal perception of the nutritional status of first- to third-grade elementary school students from private schools in the Federal District, Brazil. This cross-sectional study was conducted with 554 mother-child pairs. Children's nutritional status was assessed by measuring their weight and height. The mothers completed an online questionnaire about sociodemographic data, maternal nutritional status, maternal perception of her own nutritional status (silhouette scale for female adults), and maternal perception of child's nutritional status (silhouette scale for children). Only 30.0% of the mothers were successful in choosing the most appropriate silhouette to represent child's nutritional status. Highly educated mothers (Adjusted OR = 1.51) and mothers of male children (Adjusted OR = 2.53) or of non-overweight children (Adjusted OR = 1.65) were more likely to underestimate child's nutritional status. Conversely, mothers below 35 years of age (Adjusted OR = 1.85) and mothers of female children (Adjusted OR = 2.24) or of overweight children (Adjusted OR = 1.94) were more likely to overestimate child's nutritional status. There was a high prevalence of misperception, which shows the need for interventions for children that take into account the relevance of mother's role and the adequate recognition of child's nutritional status. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We study the economic cost of dementia in Chile, and its variation according to socioeconomic status (SES). We use primary data from a survey of 330 informal primary caregivers who completed both a RUD-Lite and a socio-demographic questionnaire to evaluate the severity of dementia and caregiver’s burden. The costs of dementia are broken into three components: direct medical costs (medical care, drugs, tests); direct social costs (social service, daycare); and indirect costs (mostly associated to informal care). The average monthly cost per patient is estimated at US$ 1,463. Direct medical costs account for 20 per cent, direct social costs for 5 per cent and indirect costs for 75 per cent of the total cost. The mean monthly cost is found to be inversely related to SES, a pattern largely driven by indirect costs. The monthly cost for high SES is US$ 1,083 and US$ 1,588 for low SES. A multivariate regression analysis suggests that severity of dementia and caregiver’s burden account for between 49 and 70 per cent of the difference in the indirect cost across SES. However, between one-third and one-half of the variation across SES is not due to gradient in severity of dementia. Direct medical costs increase in higher SES, reflecting differences in purchasing power, while indirect costs are inversely related to SES and more than compensate differences in medical costs. Moreover, in lower SES groups, female caregivers, typically family members who are inactive in the labor market, mostly provide informal care. The average annual cost of dementia in Chile (US$ 17,559) is lower in comparison to high-income countries (US$ 39,595) and the proportion of cost related to informal cost is higher (74 per cent compared to 40 per cent). SES is a key determinant in the cost of dementia. In the absence of universal access to treatment, part of the social cost of dementia potentially preserves or increases income and gender inequality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Medications and their prices are key issues for healthcare. Although access to medicines at affordable prices had been specified as a key objective of the European Health Policy, it seems that these goals have not been achieved. Therefore, we attempted an evaluation of affordability of selected medicines at full prices. Methods: The analysis concerned 2012 and was conducted between 2013 and 2015 in all the European Union (EU) countries divided into 3 groups depending on the date of their accession to the EU. Finally, we considered 9 originators used in the treatment of schizophrenia and multiple sclerosis. Information on drug prices were collected from pharmacies. Participation in the study was voluntary and anonymous in order to avoid accusations of advertising. To evaluate affordability, several factors were used (e.g. minimum earnings and Gini coefficient). Due to unavailability in some countries, the exact number of analyzed medicines varies. Results: Drug prices vary significantly between EU Member States. Almost eleven fold difference was observed between Germany (EUR 1451.17) and Croatia (EUR 132.77) in relation to Interferone beta-1a 22 μg. Generally, prices were the highest in Germany. The cheapest drugs were found in various countries but never in the poorest ones like Bulgaria or Romania. Discrepancies in wages were observed too (the smallest minimum wage was EUR 138.00 in Bulgaria and the highest EUR 1801.00 in Luxembourg). Full price of olanzapine 5mg, however, was higher in Bulgaria (EUR 64.53) than, for instance, in Belgium (EUR 37.26). Conclusions: Analyzed medications are still unaffordable for many citizens of the EU. Besides, access to medicines is also impaired e.g. due to parallel trade. Unaffordability of medications may lead to the patients’ non-compliance and therefore to increased direct and indirect costs of treatment. Common European solutions are needed to achieve a real affordability and accessibility of medications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Undecided voters represent a major challenge to political pollsters. Recently, political psychologists have proposed the use of implicit association tests (IAT) to measure implicit attitudes toward political parties and candidates and predict voting behavior of undecided voters. A number of studies have shown that both implicit and explicit (i.e., self-reported) attitudes contribute to the prediction of voting behavior. More importantly, recent research suggests that implicit attitudes may be more useful for predicting the vote of undecided voters in the case of specific political issues rather than elections. Due to its direct-democratic political system, Switzerland represents an ideal place to investigate the predictive validity of IATs in the context of political votes. In this article, I present evidence from three studies in which both explicit and implicit measures were used ahead of the vote on four different referendums. Explicit measures predicted voting better than implicit attitudes for decided voters while implicit and explicit attitudes were equally good predictors among undecided voters. In addition, implicit attitudes predicted voting behavior descriptively, but not significantly better for undecided voters while, also from a descriptive point of view, explicit attitudes predicted voting better for decided respondents. In sum, results suggest that, as argued in previous research, the predictive value of implicit attitudes may be higher in the context of issue-related votes but still not as high as initially hoped-for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Even though human hookworm infection is highly endemic in many countries throughout the world, its global economic and health impact is not well known. Without a better understanding of hookworm’s economic burden worldwide, it is difficult for decision makers such as funders, policy makers, disease control officials, and intervention manufacturers to determine how much time, energy, and resources to invest in hookworm control. Methodology/Principle Findings: We developed a computational simulation model to estimate the economic and health burden of hookworm infection in every country, WHO region, and globally, in 2016 from the societal perspective. Globally, hookworm infection resulted in a total 2,126,280 DALYs using 2004 disability weight estimates and 4,087,803 DALYs using 2010 disability weight estimates (excluding cognitive impairment outcomes). Including cognitive impairment did not significantly increase DALYs worldwide. Total productivity losses varied with the probability of anemia and calculation method used, ranging from $7.5 billion to $138.9 billion annually using gross national income per capita as a proxy for annual wages and ranging from $2.5 billion to $43.9 billion using minimum wage as a proxy for annual wages. Conclusion: Even though hookworm is classified as a neglected tropical disease, its economic and health burden exceeded published estimates for a number of diseases that have received comparatively more attention than hookworm such as rotavirus. Additionally, certain large countries that are transitioning to higher income countries such as Brazil and China, still face considerable hookworm burden. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Hookworm-related cutaneous larva migrans (HrCLM) is a neglected tropical skin disease associated with significant clinical pathology. Little knowledge exists about prevalence and risk factors of HrCLM in endemic regions. Methodology/ Principal Findings: To understand the epidemiology of HrCLM in Amazonia, we conducted a cross-sectional study in a resource-poor township in Manaus, Brazil. HrCLM was diagnosed in 8.2% (95% CI, 6.3–10.1%) of the study population (N = 806) with a peak prevalence of 18.2% (95% CI, 9.3–27.1%) in children aged 10–14. Most of the tracks (62.4%) were located on the feet, and 10.6% were superinfected. HrCLM was associated independently with age under 15, male sex, presence of animal faeces on the compound, walking barefoot on sandy ground and poverty. Conclusions/ Significance: HrCLM is common in resource-poor communities in Amazonia and is related to poverty. To reduce the disease burden caused by HrCLM, living conditions have to be improved. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To describe the relationship between minimum wage and overweight and obesity across countries at different levels of development. Methods: A cross-sectional analysis of 27 countries with data on the legislated minimum wage level linked to socio-demographic and anthropometry data of non-pregnant 190,892 adult women (24–49 y) from the Demographic and Health Survey. We used multilevel logistic regression models to condition on country- and individual-level potential confounders, and post-estimation of average marginal effects to calculate the adjusted prevalence difference. Results: We found the association between minimum wage and overweight/obesity was independent of individual-level SES and confounders, and showed a reversed pattern by country development stage. The adjusted overweight/obesity prevalence difference in low-income countries was an average increase of about 0.1 percentage points (PD 0.075 [0.065, 0.084]), and an average decrease of 0.01 percentage points in middle-income countries (PD -0.014 [-0.019, -0.009]). The adjusted obesity prevalence difference in low-income countries was an average increase of 0.03 percentage points (PD 0.032 [0.021, 0.042]) and an average decrease of 0.03 percentage points in middle-income countries (PD -0.032 [-0.036, -0.027]). Conclusion: This is among the first studies to examine the potential impact of improved wages on an important precursor of non-communicable diseases globally. Among countries with a modest level of economic development, higher minimum wage was associated with lower levels of obesity. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]