Yone Gonçalves de Moura

Social factors associated to binge drinking: a cross-sectional survey among Brazilian students in private high schools

BackgroundBinge drinking (BD) seems to be related to health and social complications among adolescents. Considering that knowledge about BD in developing countries is limited and that in Brazil high socioeconomic status is a risk factor for alcohol abuse, this study sheds light about this phenomenon among adolescents from a different cultural background than prior North-American and European studies.MethodsBrazilian students (n = 2691) selected through a representative, stratified and clustered sampling method were asked to answer a self-report questionnaire. The questionnaire contained questions about patterns of alcohol consumption, religious beliefs, leisure activities, family structure and relationships. Data were analyzed with basic contingency tables with Chi-square tests followed by a decision tree analysis and weighted logistic regression.ResultsAlmost thirty-five percent of the students reported recent binge drinking. BD in the past month was positively associated with older age (aOR = 1.5[1.2-1.7]), male gender (aOR = 1.5[1.2-2.0]) going out with friends almost every night (aOR = 33.9[14.2-80.7]), not living with mother (aOR = 2.4[1.3-4.7]), believing in God with little conviction (aOR = 1.6[1.2-2.0]) and rarely talking to parents about anything (aOR = 1.7[1.3-2.2]) or always about drugs (aOR = 1.8[1.3-2.5]). Factors inversely associated with BD were: paying lower monthly tuition fees (aOR = 0.5[0.4-0.9]), living with people who do not get drunk (aOR = 0.6[0.4-0.7]) and frequent engagement in worships (aOR = 0.7[0.5-0.9]).ConclusionThe habit of BD in adolescents enrolled in private high schools in Brazil is strongly linked to the frequency with which they go out with friends at night. Factors such as religiosity, expressed by trust in God and participation in worship, and being enrolled in a school with cheaper tuition fees were associated with avoidance of BD in this population.

The Brazilian smoker: a survey in the largest cities of Brazil

OBJECTIVE To understand the sociodemographic factors associated with daily consumption of cigarettes and pattern of cigarette use among Brazilian smokers. METHOD A cross-sectional study was performed in 2005 involving the 108 largest Brazilian cities. Data were collected through interviews with subjects aged 12 to 65 years in randomly selected households. Based on a questionnaire adapted to the Brazilian context, a logistic regression model was used to investigate the association between the sociodemographic characteristics of the sample and smoking. RESULTS Of the 7,921 subjects interviewed, 16.4% reported daily use of cigarettes. The smoking prevalence was similar between genders, although women reported to start smoking at a later age and smoke fewer cigarettes per day. Almost 65% of the smokers were interested in quitting or reducing their smoking habit. The main sociodemographic characteristics associated with smoking were as follows: adult age (30-59 years old), unemployment, low education level, and low socioeconomic level. Alcohol abuse was also shown to be associated with smoking. CONCLUSIONS Our findings suggest that adverse socioeconomic characteristics are implicated in increased susceptibility to smoking in Brazil. In our sample, a high proportion of smokers reported interest to quit or reduce smoking. These data suggest that sociodemographic factors should be considered in the elaboration of smoking prevention and treatment policies.

Diversity of Contexts in Drug Use Among Street Adolescents

In this study we aimed to investigate through ethnographic methods the different contexts of drug use by street adolescents in Sao Paulo, Brazil. Participant observations and semistructured interviews were performed at 11 major points of adolescent concentration in the streets of the city and in 10 care institutions. The sample was composed of 17 adolescents between 12 and 17 years of age. Data showed diverse patterns of drug use distributed by geographic situation and street circumstances. Observations were grouped into three main contexts: (a) immersion: greater intensity of drug use associated with greater involvement in the street culture; (b) surface: less drug use associated with family closeness; and (c) alternative—migratory: greater involvement with drug trafficking and prostitution associated with less family closeness and street culture. The drug use patterns varied in accordance with the diversity of street situations. Therefore, the peculiarities of each context should be taken into consideration in the development of social/ health policies.

Drug use among street children and adolescents: what helps?

The aim of this study was to investigate factors associated to frequent and heavy drug use among street children and adolescents aged 10 to 18 years. A sample of 2,807 street children and adolescents from the 27 Brazilian state capital cities was analyzed. A World Health Organization questionnaire for non-students was adapted for use in Brazil. Data analysis was performed using logistic regression and decision tree models. Factors inversely associated with frequent and heavy drug use were: being age nine to 11 years (OR = 0.1); school attendance (OR = 0.3); daily time (one to five hours) spent on the streets (OR = 0.3 and 0.4); not sleeping on the streets (OR = 0.4); being on the streets for less than one year (OR = 0.4); maintenance of some family bonds (OR = 0.5); presence on the streets of a family member (OR = 0.6); not suffering domestic violence (OR = 0.6); being female (OR = 0.8). All of these variables were significant at the p < 0.05 level. The findings suggest that being younger, having family bonds and engagement in school are important protective factors that affect drug use among this population and should be considered in the formulation of public policies.

Inhalants as Intermediate Drugs Between Legal and Illegal Drugs Among Middle and High School Students

The aims of this study are to: (1) describe the prevalence and sociodemographic characteristics of inhalant use among middle and high school students in Brazil, and (2) test the hypothesis of inhalants being intermediate drugs between legal and illegal drug use. A representative sample of 5226 students from private schools in São Paulo, Brazil, was selected to answer a self-report questionnaire. Weighted data was analyzed through Cox proportional hazards models. In the overall sample, inhalants seems to be an intermediate drug, since prior inhalant initiation was associated with first marijuana use, adjusted for previous alcohol and tobacco initiation.

An anti‐inflammatory as a recreational drug in brazil

Benzydamine hydrochloride is a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, with medical indication for disorders of the oral and vaginal mucosa. It is available in a number of countries and in different pharmaceuticals preparations, such as pills, vaginal douche preparations, mouthwash, dermal cream and aerosol. In Brazil, it can be purchased for less than US

Redes sociais no contexto de uso de drogas entre crianças e adolescentes em situação de rua

5 a unit. One of the few case reports on the recreational use of this substance was a 22 year-old male who discovered information on the web about its hallucinogenic properties and decided to experiment. The subject described a state of hyperactivity, excitation, visual hallucinations and muscle weakness. Recently we also identified the benzydamine recreational use among 2.3% of a sample of 5208 students of Sao Paulo, the largest city of Brazil. The sample was composed of 12 to 18 year-old students from private schools, with the main characteristic of belonging to the wealthiest socioeconomic status of the country. Most of the cases were high school students, and no differences were found between gender.

Impact of distance-learning training on substance use screening and brief intervention among health professionals and on their beliefs and attitudes toward drug use

Resumo O presente artigo relata que estudos demonstram que o ser humano tende a adoecer quando percebe que sua rede social foi reduzida ou rompida. Neste estu do foram utilizadas duas tecnicas qualitativas: observacao participante e entrevistas em profundida de, de referencial etnografico. Dezessete adolescen tes foram entrevistados. Os sistemas observados foram c ompostos por diferentes segmentos sociais que variaram entre a familia, escola, servicos de saude , instituicoes especificas para pessoas em situacao de rua, policia, comercio, trafico e, ate mesmo, os am bulantes, transeuntes, motoristas (especialmente no s farois) e os proprios “ irmaos ” da rua. Para esses adolescentes as situacoes de v ulnerabilidade no ambiente familiar, parecem contribuir para o uso precoce de drogas. A cola apareceu como a droga mais usada pelos adolescentes. Diante disso, e fundamental re ssaltar a responsabilidade que as redes sociais tem de auxiliar familias, criancas e adolescentes para a d iminuicao da desfiliacao social e reducao das desigualdades sociais no Brasil. Palavras-chave: redes sociais, adolescentes em situacao de rua, ab uso de drogas, etnografia, pesquisa qualitativa.

Internações por transtornos mentais e de comportamento decorrentes de substâncias psicoativas: um estudo epidemiológico nacional do período de 1988 a 1999

Screening for alcohol and other drug (AOD) use followed by brief intervention (SBI) represents a useful tool for health professionals, since most people who are in the early stages of substance-related problems receive no guidance before developing significant consequences. In order to disseminate the techniques of SBI among Brazilian health professionals, the National Secretary on Drug Policy (SENAD), in partnership with the Drug Dependence Unit of UNIFESP, developed the distance learning program SUPERA. The aim of this study was to assess whether health professionals who participated in SUPERA changed their beliefs and behaviors related to AOD after completing the training. Health professionals from the Brazilian public health network who successfully completed the course (N = 1062) participated in the study. They answered a questionnaire on their beliefs and attitudes regarding AOD use before and after the course. After completing it, 91% of participants reported feeling more able to use SBI techniques than before, and 60% (compared with 37% pre-training) reported believing that demonstrating concern for patients’ AOD use could help reduce their consumption. Seventy-three percent (versus 50% pre-training) believed in the importance of BI to reduce AOD use, and 60% (versus 30%) reported believing in patients’ capacity to reduce AOD use. Most of the participants (66% after training versus 28% before) considered themselves to have an adequate level of knowledge about AOD use, and 83% (versus 22%) reported high confidence in their ability to detect AOD use. These data indicate positive changes in health professionals’ knowledge and attitudes regarding AOD use after the course, suggesting that distance learning is adequate to train health professionals in SBI.