BackgroundTo evaluate personal and institutional factors related to depression and anxiety prevalence of students from 22 Brazilian medical schools.MethodsThe authors performed a multicenter study (August 2011 to August 2012), examining personal factors (age, sex, housing, tuition scholarship) and institutional factors (year of the medical training, school legal status, location and support service) in association with scores of Beck Depression Inventory (BDI) and State Trait Anxiety Inventory (STAI).ResultsOf 1,650 randomly selected students, 1,350 (81.8 %) completed the study. The depressive symptoms prevalence was 41 % (BDI > 9), state-anxiety 81.7 % and trait-anxiety in 85.6 % (STAI > 33). There was a positive relationship between levels of state (r = 0,591, p < 0.001) and trait (r = 0,718, p < 0.001) anxiety and depression scores. All three symptoms were positively associated with female sex and students from medical schools located in capital cities of both sexes. Tuition scholarship students had higher state-anxiety but not trait-anxiety or depression scores. Medical students with higher levels of depression and anxiety symptoms disagree more than their peers with the statements “I have adequate access to psychological support” and “There is a good support system for students who get stressed”.ConclusionsThe factors associated with the increase of medical students’ depression and anxiety symptoms were female sex, school location and tuition scholarship. It is interesting that tuition scholarship students showed state-anxiety, but not depression and trait-anxiety symptoms.

Suicide is one of the leading causes of death among medical students, second to car accidents. We investigated the prevalence and predictors of suicidal ideation (SI) among medical students in Brazil. This is a cross-sectional study with 475 medical students of a public university. The research protocol included data on sociodemographics and academic life, and structured instruments to assess social support and psychopathological symptoms, including the Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). The outcome was evaluated using the BDI suicide item. Bivariate analyses were followed by logistic regression. SI was present in 34 participants (7.2%). In the logistic regression, SI remained associated with living alone, thoughts of abandoning the course, moderate or severe depressive symptoms, and probable obsessive-compulsive disorder. SI is frequent among medical students and can be identified with a simple screening question. Special attention should be given to students living alone, with thoughts of abandoning the course, and relevant depressive or obsessive-compulsive symptoms.

Studies estimate that gender-diverse persons represent 0.1 to 2% of populations investigated, but no such assessment was performed in Latin America. In a representative sample of Brazil’s adult population (n = 6000), we investigated participants' sociodemographic characteristics and possible associations between these and current gender identity, categorized as cisgender, transgender or non-binary gender. We also investigated transgender individuals' distress associated with gender-related body characteristics. As main results, we found that transgender individuals represented 0.69% (CI95% = 0.48–0.90) of the sample, whereas non-binary persons were 1.19% (CI95% = 0.92–1.47). These percentages were not different among Brazil’s 5 geographic regions. Preliminary analyses showed that transgender individuals were on average younger (32.8 ± 14.2 years, CI95% = 28.5–37.1), compared to cisgender (42.2 ± 15.9, CI95% = 42.5–42.8) and non-binary (42.1 ± 16.5 years, CI95% = 38.3–46.5) groups. Non-binary persons are less likely to be in a relationship compared to cisgender individuals (OR = 0.57, CI95% = 0.35–0.93). In the transgender group, 85% of transgender men and 50% of transgender women reported distress due to gender-related body characteristics. Our main findings draw attention that gender-diverse Brazilian individuals represent around 2% of the country's adult population (almost 3 million people), and are homogeneously located throughout the country, reiterating the urgency of public health policies for these individuals in the five Brazilian sub-regions.

The potential carrying capacity of tropical pastures depends not only on the productivity of the forage species and the amount of forage on offer, but also on the efficiency with which the produced herbage is harvested by the grazing animal. This study was conducted to assess the yield and grazing efficiency on 'Guaçu' elephantgrass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) and 'Tanzania-1' guineagrass (Panicum maximum Jacq.) pastures under rotational stocking. Forage accumulation, daily accumulation rates, grazing losses, bulk density, and utilization efficiency were measured. Treatments (forages) were replicated four times in a completely randomized design. Total forage dry matter (DM) yield over 214 days of grazing were 23850 and 15000 kg ha , for grazing efficiencies of 52 and 37% for the Pennisetum and the Panicum, respectively. Mean seasonal stocking rate was 5.1 AU (animal unit = 500 kg LW) per ha on P. purpureum and 3 AU ha -1 on P. maximum pastures. For both species, productivity potential resides on the high pasture carrying capacity, particularly when there are no soil fertility limitations during the warm/rainy season. Based on growth potential and stem elongation characteristics, 'Guaçu' requires better management skills and 'Tanzania-1' has a more pronounced seasonal growth, as expressed by seasonal yields, apparently due to their contrasting responses to temperature and daylength. Key words: losses due to grazing, forage accumulation, accumulation rates, forage allowance PRODUÇÃO DE FORRAGEM E EFICIÊNCIA DE PASTEJO EM PASTAGENS DE CAPIM TANZÂNIA-1 E DE CAPIM-GUAÇU SOB LOTAÇÃO ROTACIONADARESUMO: A capacidade de suporte potencial das pastagens tropicais depende não apenas da produtividade e da quantidade de forragem em oferta, mas também da eficiência com a qual a forragem produzida é colhida pelo animal em pastejo. O presente estudo foi conduzido com o objetivo de quantificar a produtividade e a eficiência de pastejo em pastagens de capim-Guaçu (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) e de capim Tanzânia-1 (Panicum maximum Jacq.) sob lotação rotacionada. Acúmulo de forragem, taxas médias diárias de acúmulo, perdas por pastejo, densidade volumétrica da forragem e a eficiência de pastejo foram medidas. O delineamento foi completamente casualizado com dois tratamentos e quatro repetições. A produção total de matéria seca (MS) durante 214 dias de pastejo foi 23850 e 15000 kg ha -1 para os capins Guaçu e Tanzânia-1, respectivamente, com 250 kg N ha -1 aplicados parceladamente após cada pastejo. O acúmulo médio de forragem por ciclo de pastejo foi 7950 e 5010 kg MS ha -1 e a taxa média diária de acúmulo foi 137 e 86 kg MS ha -1 dia -1 para o Guaçu e para o Tanzânia, respectivamente. As perdas de forragem médias por ciclo de pastejo foram 1040 e 880 kg MS ha -1 , resultando em eficiências de pastejo de 52 e 37% para o P. purpureum e para o P. maximum, respectivamente. A taxa de lotação média da estação de pastejo foi 5,1 UA (unidade animal = 500 kg PV) no Guaçu e 3 UA ha -1 no Tanzânia-1. Em ambas as espécies o potenc...

Objective Social anxiety disorder (SAD) and body image dissatisfaction (BID) are common problems among college students, but few studies focused on medical students. We aimed to estimate the prevalence, severity and correlates of SAD symptoms and BID among medical students of a Brazilian public university. Methods A cross-sectional study with 479 students, using structured instruments: Social Phobia Inventory (SPIN), Body Shape Questionnaire (BSQ), and Beck Depression Inventory (BDI). Bivariate analyses were followed by logistic regression models to obtain independent predictors of SAD symptoms, BID and both outcomes combined. Results Most students were single (99%) and female (58.7%). The prevalence rates of SAD symptoms (SPIN ≥ 19) and BID (BSQ ≥ 81) were 36.3% and 34.7%, respectively. Depressive symptoms (BDI ≥ 19) occurred in 8.8% of the sample. SAD symptoms were independently associated with: BID, thoughts of abandoning the course, difficulty making friends, depressive symptoms, and mental health treatment prior to university. Besides SAD symptoms, BID was associated with female sex, difficulty making friends, depressive symptoms, and body mass index (BMI). Seventy-eight students (16.3%) presented SAD symptoms and BID, which was associated with female sex, difficulty making friends, dissatisfaction with the course, depressive symptoms and BMI. Conclusion SAD symptoms and BID are common and related problems that should be screened for among medical students. The identification of specific correlates could contribute to the elaboration of preventive measures, minimizing the distress and negative impact of these mental health problems on relationships and academic performance.