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Objective: to compare different perceptions of Brazilian and Portuguese health students about health promotion in the university. Method: cross-sectional, descriptive analytical study that included 669 university students in the health courses of two universities, one Brazilian and the other Portuguese. The Instrument of Assessment for Health Promotion at University was used in both institutions and the comparisons were performed with the Chi-square test and odds ratio estimation. Results: there was a predominance of students aged up to 24 years (89.2%) and females (78.3%). In general, Portuguese university students have better perceptions of the physical activity, eating habits and psychosocial factors domains (p < 0.001). Brazilian university students presented better perceptions in the domains of environmental factors and complementary and alternative therapies (p < 0.001). Conclusions: the results show that Brazilian and Portuguese students have significant differences in their perception of aspects related to health promotion at university. It is concluded that the university environment is a promising field to carry out educational practices that promote health and that this context differs between countries. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Folate and other B vitamins are essential co-factors of one-carbon metabolism, and genetic variants, such as polymorphisms, can alter the metabolism. Furthermore, the adoption of food fortification with folic acid showed a decrease of homocysteine concentration. The aim of this study was to investigate the frequencies of the polymorphisms of enzymes and carrier proteins involved in one-carbon metabolism, and to evaluate homocysteine concentrations in the presence of these genetic variants in a population exposed to mandatory food fortification with folic acid. Using data from a population-based cross-sectional study in São Paulo, Brazil, the study population comprised 750 participants above 12 years of age of both genders. A linear regression model was used to evaluate the homocysteine concentrations according to genetic variants and folate level. The results showed that the minor allelic frequencies were 0.33 for MTHFR (rs1801133), 0.24 for MTHFR (rs1801131), 0.19 for MTR (rs1805087), 0.42 for MTRR (rs1801394), 0.46 for RFC1 (rs1051266), and 0.47 for DHFR (19-bp deletion). The genetic variants of MTHFR 677C>T, MTRR 66A>G and RFC-1 80G>A were different according to race. The homocysteine concentrations increased in the CT and TT compared to CC genotypes of polymorphism MTHFR 677C>T in all populations, and differences between the homocysteine concentrations according to the genotypes of MTHFR 677C>T were observed regardless of folate level. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: To analyze trends in breastfeeding and complementary feeding indicators for infants and young children receiving primary health care (PHC) services in Brazil, considering the contextual aspects of local nurturing care (NC) environments., Study Design: Ecological time-series study., Methods: Ten feeding indicators were extracted from 1,055,907 food intake records of children aged <2 years reported by PHC facilities from 2015 to 2019. Local NC environments were assessed with the Brazilian Early Childhood Friendly Municipal Index, calculating overall and stratified scores for the NC domains of adequate nutrition, good health, opportunities for early learning, and security and safety. Prais-Winsten regression was used to calculate annual percent changes (APC) by sex and the contrast in APC between the lower and upper quintiles of NC scores. Positive or negative APC with P-values <0.05 represented increasing or decreasing trends., Results: No significant trends of exclusive and continued breastfeeding, food introduction, or minimum dietary diversity were observed, with 2019 prevalences of 54.5%, 45.2%, 92.5%, and 78.2%, respectively. Increasing trends were observed for mixed milk feeding (2019: 19.2%; APC, +2.42%) and minimum meal frequency (2019: 61.1%; APC, +2.56%), while decreasing trends were observed for sweet beverage consumption (2019: 31.9%; APC, -5.92%) and unhealthy foods (2019: 16.1%; APC, -4.69%). Indicator improvements were significantly stronger in environments more favorable for NC., Conclusions: Although the indicators did not meet global targets for infant feeding practices, the results suggest that the local NC environment encompasses facilitators that may be strategic in the design of early childhood programs and policies to improve nutrition., (Copyright © 2024 The Royal Society for Public Health. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.)