OBJECTIVE:To estimate the prevalence of medicine use among high school students (14-18 years old) living in an urban area in Southern Brazil and the proportion who self-medicate and to explore the association between medicine use and demographic, socioeconomic, and behavioral variables.METHODS:A school-based survey was conducted among high school students in the city of Maringá/PR, Brazil in 2007. The sample students were selected through two-stage random sampling. The sample included 991 students (54.5% females) from eight public and four private high schools. The data were collected using a structured questionnaire. Only medications used within the 15 days preceding data collection were considered. The independent variables studied were sex, age, socioeconomic status, living with parents, employment status, smoking habits, and alcohol use.RESULTS:The prevalence of medicine use among the adolescents was 55.8% (females = 64.3%, males = 45.7%, p<0.001) and 52.6% of this use represented self medication (females = 51.0%, males = 56.8, p = 0.21). The factors associated with medicine use were age, employment, and smoking, while the factors associated with self medication were male gender and employment. Chronic users did not tend to self-medicate.CONCLUSION: The data from this study demonstrate a high prevalence of medicine use and self medication; however, the variables associated with medicine use and self medication differed. Urgent strategies to promote the rational use of drugs in this population and their families are necessary.

Objective. To estimate the prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents (aged 14 to 18 years) in the municipality of Maringá, state of Paraná, Brazil and to explore its association with demographic, socioeconomic and behavioral variables and nutritional status indicators. MethOds. Cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 991 high school students (54.5% of girls) from both public and private high schools selected through multi-stage random sampling. Habitual physical activity was assessed using the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ) adapted for adolescents, with the previous week taken as reference period. Physical inactivity was defined as <300 min/week of moderate and vigorous physical activity. Independent variables studied were: sex, age, type of school, socioeconomic level, smoking, sedentary behavior (≥4 h/day), nutritional status, and abdominal obesity. Results. The prevalence of physical inactivity among adolescents was 56.9% (girls= 57.9%, boys= 55.7%, p=0.46). Risk factors associated with physical inactivity were lower socioeconomic level, attendance to public schools and obesity. cOnclusiOn. A high prevalence of physical inactivity was found in the population investigated. The development of strategies to increase physical activity among adolescents are urgently needed. It can be achieved through content-based activities that promote a healthy lifestyle.

Objective:to analyze the sexual behavior of the female partners of inmates and estimate the prevalence of sexually transmitted diseases. Method:cross-sectional, quantitative study involving 349 female partners of inmates. The Estudo de Comportamento Sexual [Sexual Behavior Study], an instrument validated in Brazil, was used to collect the data. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, version 20 was used in the statistical analysis. Results:41.2% of the female partners of inmates reported a prior history of sexually transmitted disease. Association was found between having more than one partner in the last 12 months (<0.006), sexual violence (<0.001), having sex for money (<0.001), under the influence of alcohol (<0.001), and under the influence of drugs (<0.005). The variables associated with sexually transmitted infections in the logistic regression were: having more than one partner in the last 12 months, sexual violence, sex for money, and under the effect of alcohol or drugs. Conclusion:The number of partners, sexual violence, sex for money, and under the influence of alcohol or drugs are sexual risk behaviors that increase the prevalence of sexually transmitted infections among the female partners of inmates.