OBJECTIVE Evaluate the prevalence and the factors associated with the occurrence of falls among older adults.METHODS A cross-sectional study with a representative sample of 1,451 elderly residents in the urban area of Pelotas, RS, in 2014. A descriptive analysis of the data was performed and the prevalence of falls in the last year was presented. The analysis of demographic, socioeconomic, behavioral and health factors associated with the outcome was performed using Poisson regression with adjustment for robust variance according to the hierarchical model. The variables were adjusted to each other within each level and for the higher level. Those with p ≤ 0.20 were maintained in the model for confounding control and those with p < 0.05 were considered to be associated with the outcome.RESULTS The prevalence of falls among older adults in the last year was 28.1% (95%CI 25.9–30.5), and most occurred in the person’s own residence. Among the older adults who fell, 51.5% (95%CI 46.6–56.4) had a single fall and 12.1% (95%CI 8.9–15.3) had a fracture as a consequence, usually in the lower limbs. The prevalence of falls was higher in women, adults of advanced age, with lower income and schooling level, with functional incapacity for instrumental activities, and patients with diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, and arthritis.CONCLUSIONS The occurrence of falls reached almost a third of the older adults, and the prevalence was higher in specific segments of the population in question. About 12% of the older adults who fell fractured some bone. The factors associated with the occurrence of falls identified in this study may guide measures aimed at prevention in the older adult population.

No abstract

Background Brazil has made substantial improvements in the duration of breastfeeding. We use data from four population-based cohorts to examine how trends and inequalities in breastfeeding indicators changed over time in a Brazilian city. Methods Data from four birth cohorts, each including all births in a calendar year (1982, 1993, 2004 and 2015) in the city of Pelotas were used. Information on breastfeeding was collected when children were aged between 3 and 20 months. The prevalences of continued breastfeeding at 1 year of age and of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months were calculated according to family income, maternal skin colour and sex. Results Prevalence of breastfeeding at 12 months increased from 16% to 41% in the 33-year period. The prevalence of exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months increased from 7% in 1993 to 45% in 2015. Increases in exclusive breastfeeding at 3 months were seen in all socioeconomic groups, but the 2015 rates remain highest (57.2%) among the women in the richest quintile, and lowest among those in the poorest quintile (34.6%). Black mothers were more likely to breastfeed at 12 months than Whites in the four cohorts. In the earlier cohorts, breastfeeding at 12 months was more common among the poor, but by 2015 these differences had disappeared. Conclusions There were important positive changes in breastfeeding practices during this period, but less than half of the children in 2015 were receiving the full benefits of breast milk. Improved breastfeeding practices are being adopted by high-income women to a greater extent than by poor women.

RESUMO: Objetivo: Avaliar a tendência de mortalidade materna no Brasil e nas cinco regiões brasileiras, de 2001 a 2012, e descrever suas principais causas. Métodos: Trata-se de uma série temporal, a partir de dados obtidos no Sistema de Informação sobre Mortalidade e no Sistema de Informação sobre Nascidos Vivos. A razão de mortalidade materna e as causas de morte materna foram descritas conforme as categorias da 10ª revisão da Classificação Internacional de Doenças, nos anos de 2001, 2006 e 2011. Para estimar a tendência temporal foi utilizada a regressão linear. Resultados: A razão de mortalidade materna mais elevada no Brasil foi no ano de 2009 (77,31 por 100 mil nascidos vivos). Foi observada tendência significativa de diminuição da razão de mortalidade materna para as regiões Nordeste e Sul e de aumento na região Centro-Oeste. Houve incremento nas mortes por outras afecções obstétricas e uma queda nas mortes por edema, proteinúria e transtornos hipertensivos. Conclusão: Embora tenham sido observadas tendências de diminuição da razão de mortalidade materna para o Nordeste e o Sul, as elevadas taxas observadas para o Brasil evidenciam a necessidade de melhoria à assistência pré-natal, ao parto e ao puerpério.

functional disability was associated to individuals older than 80, with less schooling years and affected by multiple morbidities.