Patricia Portantiolo Manzolli

Inappropriate Eating Behaviors During Pregnancy: Prevalence and Associated Factors among Pregnant Women Attending Primary Care in Southern Brazil

OBJECTIVE To examine the prevalence of inappropriate eating behaviors and associated factors among pregnant women in primary care. METHOD The Eating Disorder Examination Questionnaire was used to assess eating disorders and the Primary Care Evaluation of Mental Disorders was used to examine anxiety and depressive symptoms. Body mass index (BMI) and pregestational weight were also assessed. RESULTS Prevalence of binge eating during pregnancy was 17.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 14.5-20.0], followed by excessive shape (5.6%; 95% CI 4-8) and weight concerns (5.5%; 95% CI 4-8). Binge eating during pregnancy was significantly associated with binge eating before pregnancy [prevalence ratio (PR) = 3.1; 95% CI 2.2-4.3], current anxiety symptoms (PR = 1.8; 95% CI 1.3-2.4), and prepregnancy BMI < 19.8 kg/m(2) (PR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.1-2.5). The prevalence of eating disorders was 0.6% (95% CI 0.01-1.11). DISCUSSION Eating disorder symptoms should be routinely assessed and treated during prenatal care, along with other comorbid psychiatric symptoms such as anxiety.

Nutrition, mental health and violence: from pregnancy to postpartum Cohort of women attending primary care units in Southern Brazil - ECCAGE study

BackgroundWomans nutritional status, before and during pregnancy, is a strong determinant of health outcomes in the mother and newborn. Gestational weight gain and postpartum weight retention increases risk of overweight or obesity in the future and they depend on the pregestational nutritional status and on food consumption and eating behavior during pregnancy. Eating behavior during pregnancy may be the cause or consequence of mood changes during pregnancy, especially depression, which increases likelihood of postpartum depression. In Brazil, a study carried out in the immediate postpartum period found that one in three women experienced some type of violence during pregnancy. Violence and depression are strongly associated and both exposures during pregnancy are associated with increased maternal stress and subsequent harm to the infant. The main objectives of this study are: to identify food intake and eating behaviors patterns; to estimate the prevalence of common mental disorders and the experience of violence during and after pregnancy; and to estimate the association between these exposures and infants health and development.Methods/DesignThis is a cohort study of 780 pregnant women receiving care in 18 primary care units in two cities in Southern Brazil. Pregnant women were first evaluated between the 16th and 36th week of pregnancy at a prenatal visit. Follow-up included immediate postpartum assessment and around the fifth month postpartum. Information was obtained on sociodemographic characteristics, living circumstances, food intake, eating behaviors, mental health and exposure to violence, and on infants development and anthropometrics measurements.DiscussionThis project will bring relevant information for a better understanding of the relationship between exposures during pregnancy and how they might affect child development, which can be useful for a better planning of health actions aiming to enhance available resources in primary health care.

Validação relativa de Questionário de Freqüência Alimentar em gestantes usuárias de serviços do Sistema Único de Saúde em dois municípios no Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

OBJECTIVES: to evaluate a Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ) previously designed by Sichieri and Everhart to provide information about food consumption among pregnant women attended by the Brazilian National Health Service. To compare the mean daily intakes of energy and nutrients as assessed using a FFQ and dietary recalls. METHODS: the study took place in two cities: Bento Goncalves and Porto Alegre, State of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During a first interview, the FFQ was administered to pregnant women, followed by two dietary recalls. In a second interview two further food recalls were obtained. The Bland-Altman analysis was used to assess the degree of agreement between the FFQ and dietary recalls. RESULTS: the FFQ produced higher energy and nutrient intakes. The correlation coefficient between nutrient intake measured using dietary recalls and using the questionnaire, after adjusting for energy intake, ranged from 0.1 (unsaturated fat) to 0.47 (calcium). The nutrients: fiber, Vitamin C, folate, calcium and potassium showed higher coefficients (above 0.4). Thirty percent of individuals were classified by the two dietary assessment methods into the same quartile. CONCLUSION: this FFQ is a useful tool for epidemiological studies among pregnant women; although efforts need to be made to improve its performance. More studies are necessary to identify sociocultural and behavioural factors that influence its validity.

Violence during pregnancy and newborn outcomes: a cohort study in a disadvantaged population in Brazil.

BACKGROUND Violence against pregnant women is an increasing public health concern. The purpose of this study is to estimate the prevalence of violence during pregnancy, to identify characteristics associated and to assess the impact of violence on newborn outcomes. METHODS Prospective cohort study of 652 pregnant women attending primary care clinics in Southern Brazil, from June 2006 to September 2007. Women with gestational age ranging from 16th and 36th were enrolled and their exposure to violence and mental disorder was assessed. After the birth they were contacted by telephone when information on obstetric and neonatal outcomes was obtained. RESULTS Any violence during current pregnancy was reported by 18.3% [95% confidence interval (CI) 15.3-21.4%] participants, 15.0% (95% CI 12.3-17.8%) psychological violence, 6% (95% CI 4.2-7.8%) physical violence and 3% (0-0.5%) sexual violence. These women were more often of low income, did not work or study and had inadequate prenatal care and pregnancy weight gain. There was a statistically significant crude association between exposure to physical and psychological violence [relative risk (RR) 3.21 (1.51-6.80)]. After adjustment for family income, number of prenatal visits, length of gestation and gestational weight gain, the effect size decreased, but remained statistically significant (RR 2.18; 95% CI 1.16-4.08%). CONCLUSION In disadvantaged settings in Brazil, violence in pregnancy is frequent; it is associated with inadequate maternal weight gain during pregnancy and prenatal care, and increases risk of low birth-weight. Thus, violence in pregnancy imposes a challenge to effective prenatal care delivery with potential benefits to the mother and her baby.

Dietary fibre intake of pregnant women attending general practices in southern Brazil – The ECCAGE Study

BACKGROUND Increase in fibre intake during pregnancy may reduce weight gain, glucose intolerance, dyslipidaemia, pre-eclampsia and constipation. Few studies have evaluated adequacy of fibre intake during pregnancy. OBJECTIVE To assess, through an FFQ, the dietary fibre intake of pregnant women receiving prenatal care from general public practices and compare it with current guidelines. DESIGN AND SETTING Cross-sectional analyses of a pregnancy cohort study (ECCAGE-Study of Food Intake and Eating Behaviour in Pregnancy) conducted in eighteen general practices in southern Brazil, from June 2006 to April 2007. SUBJECTS Five hundred and seventy-eight pregnant women with mean (SD) age of 24.9 (6.5) years and mean gestational age of 24.5 (5.8) weeks. RESULTS The mean energy intake was 11 615 kJ/d (2776 kcal/d). The mean total fibre intake (30.2 g/d) was slightly above the recommended value of 28 g/d (P < 0.001), yet 50% (95% CI 46, 54) of the women failed to meet the recommendation. Whole-grain fibre constituted only 1% of total fibre intake in the cereal group. In adjusted Poisson regression analyses, not meeting the recommendation for fibre intake was associated with alcohol intake (prevalence ratio 1.29; 95% CI 1.11, 1.50) and absence of nutritional guidance (prevalence ratio 1.22; 95% CI 1.05, 1.42) during pregnancy. CONCLUSIONS About half of the pregnant women failed to meet the recommended fibre intake, especially those not reporting nutritional guidance during pregnancy. For most women, whole-grain cereal intake was absent or trivial. Taken together, our data indicate the need, at least in this setting, for greater nutritional education in prenatal care.

Underdetection of Psychiatric Disorders During Prenatal Care: A Survey of Adolescents in Sao Paulo, Brazil

PURPOSE This study estimates the prevalence of common mental disorders and the proportion and potential determinants of detection among adolescents attending prenatal care. METHODS We recruited 930 consecutive adolescents admitted for obstetric care, of which 457 participants had attended the hospitals prenatal care unit. Common mental disorders were assessed using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (version 2.1). A detailed review of prenatal care records was used to identify detection of psychiatric disorders by prenatal healthcare professionals. RESULTS A total of 103 adolescents (22.5%) had some mental disorder but only one-fifth of them had had their psychiatric disorder detected during prenatal care. The most frequent diagnosis using the Composite International Diagnostic Interview (version 2.1) was depression (13.5% or 62), but only 21% had been detected. Alcohol and drug dependence were the least common mental disorders (2.4%), but they were the most commonly detected (45.5%). Physical chronic condition increased the likelihood of detecting psychiatric disorder. CONCLUSION Mental health is not yet recognized as an integral component of practice in prenatal care. Given the potential effect of antenatal psychiatric morbidity on maternal and child outcomes, especially among adolescents, practice needs to be changed and prenatal care professionals trained in the recognition and basic treatment of common mental disorders.

Auditoria médica: avaliação de alguns procedimentos inseridos no programa de atenção integral à saúde da mulher no posto de saúde da Vila Municipal, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul, Brasil

This study is based on a medical audit of the Vila Municipal Health Clinic, Pelotas, Rio Grande do Sul. We collected data from family medical records in 1992,1993, and 1994. The data concerned the Womens Integral Health Care Program. We collected information on age, visits for medical and non-medical reasons, blood pressure, breast examination, coverage of Pap smear testing, and contraceptive methods. On average, women visited the clinic 3.5 to 4 times a year; 53% of the women were between 20 and 39 years of age; 42.5% of the women had had a Pap smear in the previous three years; 19% of the women had had their breasts examined. Blood pressure measurement was the most common procedure recorded in this clinic. We believe quality of medical records is a factor in patient care. We expect a critique of the low-quality medical records found in this audit can serve as the basis for a discussion among the health care team, with a view towards improving medical care, thereby benefiting patients.

Abuse against women depression and infant morbidity: a primary care cohort study in Brazil.

BACKGROUND The relationship between abuse against women and maternal depression as risk factors for infant morbidity is unclear. PURPOSE To describe the association of prenatal and postnatal abuse against women on infant physical morbidity and examine the potential mediating effect of maternal depression on these associations. METHODS Prospective cohort study of 375 women from pregnancy (16th-36th week) to the fifth month postpartum, who attended 18 primary care units in Southern Brazil between 2006 and 2008. Abuse and depression were measured at the prenatal and postnatal interviews using standardized instruments. Infant outcomes were diarrhea and respiratory infection during the first 5 months after birth. Analyses were conducted in 2010. RESULTS Overall, 35% of participants reported having suffered abuse during pregnancy and/or in the postnatal period. In addition, 10.1% reported infant diarrhea and 20.5% respiratory infection. Infants of mothers abused at the postnatal period were at increased risk for diarrhea (adjusted relative risk [RR]=2.20, 95% CI=1.15, 4.19) and for respiratory infection (adjusted RR=1.68, 95% CI=1.12, 2.52). There was no mediating effect of depression for either outcome. CONCLUSIONS Postnatal abuse against women is associated with risk of infant diarrhea and respiratory infection. The current findings highlight the importance of getting abuse against women into the public health agenda.

Research articleAbuse Against Women, Depression, and Infant Morbidity: A Primary Care Cohort Study in Brazil

BACKGROUND The relationship between abuse against women and maternal depression as risk factors for infant morbidity is unclear. PURPOSE To describe the association of prenatal and postnatal abuse against women on infant physical morbidity and examine the potential mediating effect of maternal depression on these associations. METHODS Prospective cohort study of 375 women from pregnancy (16th-36th week) to the fifth month postpartum, who attended 18 primary care units in Southern Brazil between 2006 and 2008. Abuse and depression were measured at the prenatal and postnatal interviews using standardized instruments. Infant outcomes were diarrhea and respiratory infection during the first 5 months after birth. Analyses were conducted in 2010. RESULTS Overall, 35% of participants reported having suffered abuse during pregnancy and/or in the postnatal period. In addition, 10.1% reported infant diarrhea and 20.5% respiratory infection. Infants of mothers abused at the postnatal period were at increased risk for diarrhea (adjusted relative risk [RR]=2.20, 95% CI=1.15, 4.19) and for respiratory infection (adjusted RR=1.68, 95% CI=1.12, 2.52). There was no mediating effect of depression for either outcome. CONCLUSIONS Postnatal abuse against women is associated with risk of infant diarrhea and respiratory infection. The current findings highlight the importance of getting abuse against women into the public health agenda.

A bidimensional solution for outcomes in bipolar disorder.

Abstract Although depressive symptoms have been consistently associated with lower quality of life and increased disability in bipolar disorder, their relation to manic symptoms is not as clear cut. A great overlap between these outcomes complicates the understanding of how they cluster together. We used exploratory factor analysis to clarify the relation between these constructs. We consecutively recruited 320 patients with bipolar disorder, and interviewers rated the Hamilton Depression and Anxiety Rating Scales, the Young Mania Rating Scale (YMRS), Clinical Global Impression (CGI), and the Global Assessment of Functioning (GAF). The self-rated Sheehan Disability Scale and the World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF questionnaires were also collected. Two distinct and large dimensions emerged. Depression and anxiety, along with the self-rated scales, loaded in the first factor, whereas the YMRS, the GAF, and the CGI loaded in the second. These findings imply that evaluating self- and observer-rated outcomes may make up for a more thorough evaluation because each conveys unique illness information.