Objective: To estimate the association between food intake and metabolic syndrome (MetS). Design: Cross-sectional design conducted from July 2006 to December 2007. Setting: Adolescents assisted by the Family Doctor Program (FDP) in Niterói, a metropolitan area in Rio de Janeiro State, Brazil. Subjects: Survey of 210 adolescents. Individuals with three or more of the following components of MetS were classified as having this syndrome: TAG $ 110 mg/dl; HDL cholesterol , 50 mg/dl for girls aged 12-19 years and boys aged 12-14 years or ,45 mg/dl for boys aged 15-19 years; waist circumference $75th percentile; serum glucose .100 mg/dl; and blood pressure $90th percentile. A semi-quantitative FFQ was used, and foods were grouped as: unprocessed or minimally processed foods (Group 1), processed culinary and food industry ingredients (Group 2) and ultra-processed foods (Group 3). The associations between food consumption and MetS were adjusted for sociodemographic, behavioural and family history covariates and were estimated using generalized estimation equations with the Poisson regression model. Results: MetS was diagnosed in 6?7 % of the adolescents; the most frequent diagnostic criteria included the reduction of HDL cholesterol (46?7 %), elevated serum glucose (17?1 %) and the elevation of waist circumference (16?7 %). Crude analysis showed higher average daily intakes of energy, carbohydrates and ultraprocessed foods among adolescents with MetS. After statistical adjustment, the intake of ultra-processed foods ($3rd quartile) remained associated with MetS (prevalence ratio 5 2?5; P 5 0?012). Conclusions: High consumption of ultra-processed foods was associated with the prevalence of MetS in this adolescents group.

This article aims to contribute to dengue control programs through a review of recent studies on knowledge, beliefs, and practices concerning dengue and dengue prevention. The results show that adequate knowledge of dengue and prevention methods are found in close association with high rates of domiciliary infestation by Aedes aegypti. This suggests that traditional education strategies, although efficient in transmitting information, have failed to change population behavior. Qualitative studies reveal two important issues that appear to explain these attitudes: representations of dengue and risks associated with mosquitoes and difficulties in avoiding infestation of household water recipients due to sanitation problems in communities.

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This paper focuses on the role of environmental factors external to the health care system in the occurrence of perinatal deaths in maternity hospitals belonging to the local health system in a city in Greater Metropolitan Rio de Janeiro in 1994. Elements from the political and administrative context that contribute to an understanding of the relationship between failures in health care and structural deficiencies in these maternity hospitals were divided into four groups of variables: distribution of resources, spatial and temporal factors, organizational and managerial features, and action by interest groups. Semi-structured interviews were conducted. The study concluded that poor performance in four groups of variables may have contributed to perinatal mortality: distribution of resources was insufficient to provide quality in health care, especially in private maternity hospitals; there was no formal or informal regional or hierarchical organization of obstetric care in the city; Ministry of Health guidelines were ignored in all four maternity hospitals, while in three of the hospitals there were no admissions procedures and delivery and fetal follow-up listed in their own rules; and the level of actual participation was low.

We investigated human papillomavirus (HPV)