Cynthia Gazal-Carvalho

Blood alcohol content prevalence among trauma patients seen at a level 1 trauma center

OBJECTIVE To investigate the prevalence of blood alcohol content (BAC) among patients seen at a level 1 trauma center. METHODS A cross-sectional study was carried out and patients were randomly selected at the emergency room of a level I trauma center in the city of São Paulo, Brazil, throughout a year (August 1998 to August 1999). Blood samples were drawn and data was collected using an adapted version of a questionnaire developed by the Medical Research Institute of San Francisco - Alcohol Research Group. RESULTS A population sample of 464 patients was analyzed. Most of them were males (73.7%) and the median age was 29 years old. Positive BAC was found in 28.9% of the cases (CI95% 24.8 - 33.2) and in 84.3% BAC was =0.10%. Type of injury, gender, age group, marital status and outcome showed statistically significant associations with BAC with the highest BAC prevalence observed among assault victims (46.2%), males (33.9%), 25 to 44 years old (37.6%), singles (33.0%), and patients admitted in the hospital (41.4%). CONCLUSIONS The results reinforce the relationship of alcohol and trauma. Preventive actions at different levels focusing on higher risk groups for alcohol-related injuries should be considered as part of prevention programs to both reduce injuries and curb recurrent events.

Drinking Practices and Other Health-Related Behaviors Among Adolescents of São Paulo City, Brazil

Purpose. (a) detect possible demographic and behavioral differences among young episodic heavy drinkers and other young drinkers; (b) investigate the association of youth drinking patterns with other health-compromising behaviors. Methods. The data presented are part of a health behavior survey, which used a modified version of the Youth Health Risk Behavior Survey (YHRBS) questionnaire. Students from public (n = 993) and private schools (n = 815), from 7th to 11th grades were investigated in São Paulo city. Multivariate logistic regression analyses were employed to investigate the association among different drinking practices and the various health-compromising behaviors, controlling for age group, gender, and school system. Odds Ratios (OR) and their 95% Confidence Intervals (CI) were calculated. Episodic Heavy Drinking was defined as having five or more drinks in a 2-hour interval, at least once in the last 30 days. Results. Episodic Heavy Drinkers (EHDs) tend to be older and males and prefer to drink with friends at commercial facilities instead of drinking with their relatives at home. EHDs also reported higher percentages of adverse consequences, such as physical fights, accidents, and school absenteism after drinking. EHDs are more likely to engage in other high-risk behaviors. In the public schools, they were more likely to carry guns (OR = 17.0; CI = 3.9–74.8), get involved in physical fights (OR = 8.9; CI = 4.4–18.0), attempt suicide (OR = 4.2; CI = 2.0–8.7), and use inhalants (OR = 2.7; CI = 1.3–5.7) than abstainers. They are also more likely to use marijuana (OR = 4.7; CI = 2.2–9.9) and smoke cigarettes (OR = 5.3; CI = 2.7–10.4) than moderate drinkers. The results were similar for private schools, with even higher ratios of inhalant use (OR =15.2; CI = 6.2–37.1), when EHDs were compared with abstainers and cigarette (OR = 64.5; CI = 8.6–481.0) and marijuana use (OR = 6.5; CI = 4.3–9.7), when EHDs were compared with moderate drinkers. Conclusions. EHDs display different drinking habits than other adolescents who drink. Also, they are at increased risk for a range of health-compromising behaviors, when compared with both abstainers and moderate drinkers.

Agenda de Prioridades da Vigilância e Prevenção de Acidentes e Violências aprovada no I Seminário Nacional de Doenças e Agravos Não Transmissíveis e Promoção da Saúde

External causes mortality rates - accidents and violence - have been epidemically increasing since the eighties. The Brazilian Ministry of Health has launched some initiatives to face this problem, by its General Coordination of Noncommunicable Diseases and Conditions of the Health Surveillance Secretariat, organizing the I National Seminar on Noncommunicable Diseases and Conditions and Health Promotion in September 2005. During this event, an Agenda on Accidents and Violence Surveillance, Prevention, and Control was discussed and oficially presented. This paper presents the agenda’s four axes on which prevention activities were developed and organized: I - Accidents and Violence Surveillance and Information System Implementation; II - Management; III - Intervention; and IV - Research and evaluation support.