RESUMO
OBJECTIVE: To look at the modification in depressive mood in postmenopausal depressed women after estrogen replacement therapy (ERT). METHOD: Twelve depressed patients divided into two groups of six women each were studied. One group received conjugated equine estrogens (CEE) 0.625 mg/day; the other did not receive any treatment (control group). Mood was assessed in all the subjects at baseline and at 6 months with Hamilton Rating Scale score and considered as depression when it was > 15. Differences between groups were determined by Mann-Whitney U-test, and in each group between baseline and 6-month values with Wilcoxon test. RESULTS: The ERT group had a statistically significant decrease in depressive mood (21 vs. 13 points, P < 0.03), while in the control group no significant change was found. Final Hamilton scale scores were significantly lower (P < 0.05) in those under ERT, when compared with those in the control group. CONCLUSION: Depressive mood decreased after 6 months with CEE, so the prescription of ERT can be useful in postmenopausal women with depressive mood.
Assuntos
Depressão/tratamento farmacológico , Terapia de Reposição de Estrogênios , Estrogênios Conjugados (USP)/uso terapêutico , Pós-Menopausa , Adulto , Feminino , Humanos , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Resultado do TratamentoRESUMO
Latin America is a region where countries have various levels of socioeconomic development. Thus, the living standards and health status of its people differ significantly in the midst of a mosaic of social, ethnic, cultural and economic realities. Social inequalities and extreme poverty determine significant differences, not only in the magnitude of health indicators, but also in the type of pathology prevalent. People in the high socioeconomic levels are affected by nutritional diseases characterized by excessive food intake, while people from the low socioeconomic levels are affected by undernutrition and its associated pathology. Undernutrition occurs fundamentally among the age groups at higher risk in the population segments with low income, low food intake, illiteracy and poor access to the health care and preventive medicine centers. Among families exposed to undernutrition, women are usually in worse condition than men. This is due to the long working hours and the increased nutritional requirements caused by frequent gestations and prolonged lactation. It is estimated that one fourth of newborns in Latin America are affected by low birth weight, which has been associated to adolescent mothers, their excessive physical work, anemia, low maternal pregestational weight, low weight gain during gestation, and frequent maternal infections. Nutritional anemia due to iron deficiency is highly prevalent among pregnant women in Latin America. In some countries, the prevalence of folate deficiency during pregnancy appears to have increased significantly in the past 15 years and is becoming a nutritional problem that needs preferential attention. Diets generally are inadequate and, in the case of pregnant and lactating women, usually deficient in calories, protein, iron and folic acid. It is urgent that the health and nutritional status of Latin American women of low socioeconomic condition be given special attention, particularly mothers during gestation and lactation. Otherwise, women will not be able to altogether fulfill their important role in the home and within the family, nor will they successfully participate in the economic development of their countries.
Assuntos
Nível de Saúde , Distúrbios Nutricionais/epidemiologia , Estado Nutricional , Mulheres , Adolescente , Anemia Hipocrômica/epidemiologia , Anemia Hipocrômica/etiologia , Países em Desenvolvimento , Dieta , Feminino , Deficiência de Ácido Fólico/complicações , Deficiência de Ácido Fólico/epidemiologia , Humanos , Recém-Nascido , Lactação/fisiologia , América Latina/epidemiologia , Distúrbios Nutricionais/etiologia , Necessidades Nutricionais , Gravidez/fisiologia , Gravidez na Adolescência , Fatores SocioeconômicosRESUMO
A cross-sectional evaluation of dental caries in primary teeth and nutritional status was conducted involving 285 Peruvian children from low socioeconomic conditions aged 3-9 y. Forty-nine percent of the children were found to be chronically malnourished (stunted) whereas acute malnutrition (wasting) was infrequent (2%). Stunted children showed a delayed exfoliation of primary teeth. The caries prevalence curve as a function of age (ie, a plot of decayed, extracted, and filled teeth vs age) was found to be shifted to the right by approximately 15 mo in stunted children as compared with well-nourished children. Children aged 7-9 y with stunted growth showed a significantly higher percentage of carious teeth than did well-nourished children of the same age (40 and 29%, respectively; p less than 0.005). Nutritional deficits that lead to chronic malnutrition not only may affect tooth exfoliation but also appear to render the primary teeth more susceptible to caries attack later in life.