Objective To assess the burden and quality of life of caregivers of patients with sickle cell anemia taking hydroxyurea versus those of patients not taking hydroxyurea. Methods A cross-sectional study was performed of caregivers of outpatients with sickle cell anemia in two public hospitals in Campo Grande, MS, from January through June 2010. The World Health Organization Quality of Life-BREF Scale and the Caregiver Burden Scale were used. Results Of the 37 caregivers in this study, 81.1% were women, 73.0% were mothers, 59.5% were married, 54.1%were mulattos, 48.6% were housewives, 54.1% had family incomes of up to one minimum wage and 75.7% had onlycompleted elementary education. The mean duration of care provided (time after diagnosis) was 16.08 ± 9.88 yearsand 89.2% reported that they provided 24-hour care. Regarding health, 27.0% of study participants reported having physical and 13.5% emotional problems. There were no significant relationships between these variables either with the different domains or the total score of the WHOQOL-BREF comparing caregivers of patients taking hydroxyurea versusthose of patients not taking hydroxyurea. There was a moderate negative linear correlation between the WHOQOL-BREF and the Caregiver Burden Scale scores (linear correlation test of Pearson: p-value = 0.003, r = -0.477). The burden of caregivers of patients who did not take hydroxyurea was significantly higher than those of patients who took the medication in terms of general tension, disappointment, environment and total score (student t-test: p-value < 0.05). ConclusionIn the perception of the caregiver, looking after sickle cell anemia patients represents a moderate negative burden.

A satisfação no trabalho e a qualidade de vida determinam a condição de saúde dos professores universitários e interferem no processo de ensino- aprendizagem. Objetivo: Avaliar a satisfação no trabalho e a qualidade de vida de professores universitários de instituições no Brasil. Método: Revisão integrativa de artigos publicados entre janeiro de 2008 e janeiro de 2018. A coleta de dados foi realizada nas bases de dados: Directory of Open Access Journals, SciELO, LILACS, PubMed, e Academic One File. Para busca no inglês, foram utilizados descritores exatos do Medical Subjects Headings (MeSH): “quality of life”, “job satisfaction”, “faculty” e “Brazil” e em português, os Descritores em Ciências de Saúde (DeCS): “qualidade de vida” “docentes”, “universidades”, e o sinônimo “satisfação no trabalho”. Resultados: Os docentes, em sua maioria, estão satisfeitos com o trabalho que realizam, assim como apresentam uma qualidade de vida satisfatória.

Firefighters are exposed to a wide range of risks, among them, biological risk. The objective was to analyze working conditions of firefighters in the city of Campo Grande, MS, Brazil, focusing on risk conditions of exposure to biological material. Three hundred and seven (307) firefighters were interviewed for data collection and observed for ergonomic job analysis (AET). Results: 63.5% of the firefighters suffered some kind of job related accident with blood or body fluids. Statistically significant association was found between having suffered accidents at work and incomplete use of personal protective equipment (PPE). About AET regarding the biological risks, 57.1% of all patients had blood or secretions, which corresponds in average to 16.0% of the total work time, based on a working day of 24 h. Besides biological risks, other stressing factors were identified: emergency and complexity of decision, high responsibility regarding patients and environment, and conflicts. Health promotion and accident prevention actions must be emphasized as measures to minimize these risks.

Investigar a relação entre comportamento sedentário e qualidade de vida de professores da educação básica. Método: Estudo realizado com 142 professores de oito escolas municipais de Campo Grande/MS. Foram avaliadas características sociodemográficas, profissionais e hábitos de vida. O comportamento sedentário (tempo sentado) foi avaliado por duas questões específicas do IPAQ-versão curta e a qualidade de vida pelo WHOQOL-bref. A estatística descritiva foi empregada para caracterizar as variáveis do estudo, enquanto as comparações realizadas com a aplicação dos testes de Wilcoxon, Friedman e Mann Whitney. Resultados: Os professores passam em média 270 minutos (±176,5) sentados em um dia de semana e 360 minutos (±239,1) em um dia de final de semana. Quase metade dos docentes não avaliou sua qualidade de vida de forma positiva (47,9%). Maiores escores de qualidade de vida foram encontrados em docentes com experiência profissional superior a 14 anos (p=0,025), que lecionam por até 20 horas semanais (p=0,020) e passam menos tempo sentados em um dia de semana (p=0,006). Conclusão: O excessivo tempo sentado foi associado com pior qualidade de vida entre os professores da educação básica. Diante disso, intervenções voltadas à diminuição do comportamento sedentário e promoção da qualidade de vida são demandas da população investigada.

Introduction: Subclinical hypothyroidism, defined as an increase of thyroid stimulating hormone levels with normal levels of thyroid hormones, could have a multiorgan impact. There seem to be differences in the elderly (over 65 years of age) which indicate that there should be a different approach in terms of diagnosis and the treatment.Material and Methods: Electronic database search and narrative bibliographical review.Results: Different case studies showing the multiorgan consequences of subclinical hypothyroidism suggest that, in the elderly, there is a minor impact or even a lack of repercussion, especially in those over 80 - 85 years old. Additionally, there is evidence indicating that the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone rise with the age of the patient. The standard treatment, in the beginning, is a low dose of levothyroxine when the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone are over 10.0 mIU/L, when there are noticeable symptoms or positive anti-thyroid antibodies. However, the treatment is not consensual when the levels of thyroid stimulating hormone are between 4.5 and 10.0 mIU/L, in such a way that the TRUST study concluded that no benefits have outcome from treating these patients. Discussion: The non-definition of the reference range and the age gap are the key factors that contribute the most to biased results. However, there is consensus regarding non-treatment of mild thyroid dysfunctions (4.5 - 7.0 mIU/L) in the elderly, particularly above 80 years of age. Nevertheless, for positive anti-thyroid antibodies, suggestive ultrasound changes or iatrogenic side effects, the reference level should be 4.5 mIU/L. Conclusion: The general impact of subclinical hypothyroidism is different in elderly people, meaning that an individualized therapeutic approach and long-term monitoring is the appropriate strategy.