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Background: Currently, diabetes mellitus (DM) and systemic arterial hypertension (SAH) are among the top five global risks for mortality. Among the modifiable factors, careful dietary practice is one of the essential elements for the control of NCDs, since these diseases are often the result of unhealthy lifestyles. Thus, this study aimed to assess the frequency of dietary practices among adult males and females with DM and/or SAH, and compare whether or not they are more frequent than in healthy adults, through a population-based study conducted in the city of Florianópolis, southern Brazil. Methods: Cross-sectional population-based study, using as exposure self-reported DM and/or SAH status. Dietary practices were assessed using a semiquantitative food consumption questionnaire. The following were considered as adequate: regular intake (≥ 6 times/week) of fruit and vegetables, daily intake of fruit (≥ 3 times/day) and vegetables (≥ 2 times/day), intake lower than 2 times/week of meat fat, fried foods, and soda. Bivariate and adjusted analysis for sociodemographic variables were conducted using Poisson regression, stratified by gender. Location: Florianópolis, southern Brazil, 2009. Subjects: Representative sample of 20 to 59 year-old adults (n=1720). Results: A total of 16.6% participants were diagnosed with DM and/or SAH. The most frequently consumed unhealthy foods were fried food (51.0%, 95% CI: 48.8-53.5) and soda (57.9% 95%CI: 55.5-60.2). Of healthy foods, fruit was the less consumed on a daily basis (11.1% 95%CI 9.6-12.5). In general, women showed better dietary practices than men. In adjusted analysis none of dietary practices was more frequent among diabetic and/or hypertensive adults compared with healthy individuals, regardless of gender. No differences were found between healthy and unhealthy adults, when the number of dietary practices was assessed. Conclusions: The frequency of dietary practices was low and did not differ between individuals with or without DM and/or SAH. It is fundamental to reinforce the need of healthy dietary practices as one of the essential elements for the control of chronic diseases and their complications. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Aim: To assess the relative impact of changing diagnostic criteria on changes in the prevalence and severity of caries between 1971 and 1997. Material and methods: All 12- and 13-year-old children attending the same school "Padre Anchieta Primary School", in Brazil in 1971 (n=202) and 1997 (n=175) were examined by a single dentist. The criteria for the diagnosis of caries proposed by Radike in 1968 were used in both 1971 and 1997. In 1997, a second clinical examination was conducted and the WHO criteria proposed in 1987 were used. Results: Comparison of caries experience expressed as changes in mean DMFT scores indicated a 67.7% reduction between 1971 and 1997 from 9.2 to 3.0 when Radike's criteria were used in 1971 and the WHO criteria were used in 1997. The reduction in caries was independent of the diagnostic criteria adopted in the 1997 dental examination, but the reduction of caries was smaller, from 9.2 to 6.2 (31.8%), when caries experience in 1971 and 1997 was measured using Radike's criteria, Conclusion: The observed reduction of caries is not a statistical artifact. However, while 47.2% of this reduction is real, 52.8% of it is a statistical artifact due to changes in the criteria for measuring caries used by epidemiologists. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract: This population-based health survey was carried out in Florianopolis, Brazil, to assess the association between adult systolic blood pressure (SBP) and contextual income level, after controlling for potential individual-level confounders. A statistically significant negative association between SBP levels and contextual income was identified after adjusting for individual-level characteristics. SBP levels in the highest and in the intermediate tertiles of contextual income were 5.78 and 2.82mmHg lower, respectively, than that observed in the bottom tertile. The findings suggest an association between income area level and blood pressure, regardless of well-known individual-level hypertension risk factors. [Copyright &y& Elsevier]