Browsing by Author "Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira"
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- Health determinants among a sample of Portuguese childrenPublication . Veiga, Nelio Jorge; Pereira, Carlos; Loureiro, Rosalina; Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira; Coelho, Inês; Pereira, JoanaIntroduction: The current lifestyles suggest risk behaviors that are the basis of a country’s health profile. Objectives: The objective of this study was the assessment of health determinants and its association with socio-demographic variables among a sample of Portuguese children from 3 to 10 years old. Methods: A cross-sectional study was designed with a total of 1617 children from public schools, from the two main school groups of Tondela and Vouzela, Portugal. The final study sample was built with a total of 1365 children aged between 3 and 10 years old. Data collection was accomplished by the distribution of a self-administered questionnaire to the parents and caregivers of the children. Results: It was found that the older children had a lower adherence to healthy eating habits and a higher prevalence of physical activity. The boys had higher levels of physical activity and higher prevalence of sedentary behaviors, in comparison with girls. The residence area of the children was associated with a higher prevalence of fastfood consumption and sedentary behaviors. Conclusions: It becomes noticeable the need to make an intervention on the most vulnerable social groups to obtain more effective health equality. Health promotion strategies should be seriously considered in communities in order to improve healthy lifestyles among Portuguese children and their families.
- Prevalence and determinants of oral microflora among Portuguese adolescentsPublication . Pereira, Carlos; Veiga, Nelio Jorge; Resende, Carlos; Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira; Pereira, JoanaIntroduction: The aim of the present study was to determine the prevalence and determinants of salivary Streptococcus mutans, Lactobacillus and Aggregatibacter actinomycetemcomitans and the associated risk of development of dental pathologies on a sample of Portuguese adolescents. Materials and methods: A cross-sectional study was designed including a inal sample of 447 adolescents aged between 12 and 18 years old, attending a public school in Sátão, Portugal. A self-administered questionnaire was illed out by the adolescents. Clinical examination of oral health status was carried out and saliva collection was accomplished by the passive drool method. The identiication of the different types of bacterial strains was accomplished using the Polymerase Chain Reaction technique. Results: The prevalence of S. mutans in the studied sample was 99.5% Lactobacillus, 80.8% S. mutans and 15.2% A. actinomycetemcomitans. The presence of S. mutans was associated with gender (male = 76.1% vs female = 83.6%; P = .04) and dental pain in the presence of severe dental caries (77.3% vs 87.8%; P = .006). The infection with A. actinomycetemcomitans was associated with age (< 15 years = 12.3% vs ≥ 15 years = 20.3%; P = .03) and residence area (rural = 18.2% vs urban = 11.0%; P = .04), and may be related with a higher risk of periodontal disease development in adulthood. Conclusions: A. actinomycetemcomitans infection was found to be associated with socio-demographic variables, suggesting that, if not clinically well identiied and treated, may cause serious oral diseases during adulthood. It has been described that the oral microlora is one of the main etiological factors for dental caries and periodontal diseases development, but cannot be considered in an isolated manner.
- Problemas experienciados pelo cuidador informal de pessoa idosa em situação de dependênciaPublication . Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira; Matos, Nuno Alexandre Marques de; Veiga, Nelio Jorge; Matos, Dulce Sofia Marques Pereira deIntroduction: Currently, the demographic and epidemiological changes experienced in Portugal made it an aging country leading to the need to take care of dependent people. The informal caregiver is assumed as a fundamental element, with increased responsibilities in caring for the elderly who is in a dependence situation. Objective: To Identify the problems experienced and or the difficulties perceived by informal caregivers of dependent people. Methods: A cross-sectional and analytical study was performed. The sample consisted of 77 informal caregivers. Most of them were female (88.3%) with age ranging from 22 to 96 years (Mean±SD of 57.03 ± 13.52 years). Married caregivers were 84.4% of the sample and 70.1% of them lived in the countryside. Data were collected through a questionnaire consisting of sociodemographic variables for caregivers and the dependent person, the Carers Advisory of Difficulties Index (CADI) to identify informal caregiver needs. The Barthel Index was used to identify the degree of dependence. Results: It was found that 32.5% of the individuals were totally dependent, 27.2% with mild dependence, 22.1% with severe dependence, and 18.2% with moderate dependence. Thus, it was noted that 72.8% of individuals presented with moderate to high dependence. Informal caregivers manifested as their main difficulties, the relational problems, reactions to care, physical demands, restrictions on social life, unsupportive family, little professional support, and financial problems. Conclusions: Informal caregivers perceived some difficulties, which were consequences of caring for the dependent person. We highlighted the dimensions ‘Reactions to care delivery’, ‘Physical requirements in care delivery’, and ‘Relational problems with the dependent person’ as the most critical ones
- Quality of life, sleepiness and depressive symptoms in adolescents with insomnia: a cross-sectional studyPublication . Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira; Garrido, António José de Almeida; Pereira, Carlos de Figueiredo; Master, Nélio Veiga; Nunes, Carla de Rosário Delgado; Sakellarides, Constantino TheodorObjectives To determine the prevalence of insomnia in a sample of Portuguese adolescents and assess its repercussions on HRQoL, daytime sleepiness and depressive symptomatology. Design We carried out a cross-sectional school-based study evaluating students from Viseu. Location Students from twenty-six public secondary schools in the county of Viseu, Portugal. Participants Of 9237 questionnaires distributed, 7581 were collected (82.1%). We excluded from analysis all questionnaires from adolescents younger than 12 or older than 18 years of age (211) and unfilled forms (451). The sample comprised 6919 adolescents, the 7th to 12th grade, from 26 public secondary schools. Interventions None. Measurements Data gathering was done using a self-applied questionnaire. Insomnia was defined based on the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders – IV criteria. HRQoL was evaluated with the Quality of Life Health Survey SF-36, depressive symptomatology with BDI-II and daytime sleepiness with the Epworth Sleepiness Scale. Results Prevalence of insomnia was 8.3% and the prevalence of adolescents with symptoms of insomnia without daytime impairment (disturbed sleepers) was 13.1%. HRQoL was significantly reduced among adolescents with insomnia compared to normal sleepers (p < 0.001) and even when compared to disturbed sleepers (p < 0.001). There was an increase in daytime sleepiness from normal sleepers to disturbed sleepers and to adolescents with insomnia (p < 0.001). There was also an increase in the prevalence and severity of depressive symptoms (p < 0.001). Conclusions Our results show that insomnia is associated with a significantly lower health related quality of life among adolescents.
- Validation of the Portuguese Rome III Questionnaire for Diagnosis of Functional Dyspepsia in adultsPublication . Amaral, Maria Odete Pereira; Veiga, Nélio; Pereira, Carlos; Coelho, Inês; Pereira, JoanaIntroduction: The validation tools are essential in epidemiological research, especially for the consensus case definition and comparison of results. Currently, the instrument most commonly used to identify functional dyspepsia is the Rome III questionnaire, which is not validated for the Portuguese population. Objectives: To validate the Rome III questionnaire for the assessment of functional dyspepsia in Portuguese adults. Methods: The questionnaire was translated following the recommendations of Rome III. A total of 166 adults completed the questionnaire. The identification of the category of functional dyspepsia among adults was based on the presence of one or more symptoms from the total of 4 symptoms that the scale allows to assess from a total of 6 items. The internal consistency, reproducibility and contents analysis were evaluated using the program SPSS 23.0. Results: Alpha Cronbach coefficient from the total of 18 items measured was 0.89. For functional dyspepsia category (assessed by 6 items) was 0.76 and the alpha Cronbach’s based on standardized items was 0.85. Conclusions: We validated, for Portugal, the Rome III questionnaire for the diagnosis of functional gastrointestinal disorders, particularly for functional dyspepsia among adults. These results suggest that this tool will be useful for research in the Portuguese population.