EDITORIAL
José da Rocha Carvalheiro
This number closes volume 7 of the Revista Brasileira de Epidemiologia, in the same cover month, December 2004. SciELO's Committee acknowledged us this year and we have been included in their database. This inspires us to keep up the same pace, which is not the mission of the Board of Editors, but of the scientific community of the area, who deserves all the credit. Again, we should point out the work of our Associate Editors, the support of the Executive Secretaries and of those in charge of the revision and standardization of the Portuguese and English, editing and printing. They were directly responsible for our editorial quality, which allowed us to be accepted by SciELO. Quality combined with strictness in peer review will allow us to continue publishing "good quality epidemiological production", our major mission. Next year, with our position in SciELO consolidated, we will seek new bases to expand even further our circulation in the Brazilian and international scientific community.
2004 was an even more prodigal year, with important events in our area. We had National and International Epidemiology Congresses with the proposal of integrating Epidemiology in Latin America; the celebration of the 25th anniversary of our Brazilian Association of Post-Graduation in Collective Health, ABRASCO, with an event sponsored by PAHO in its honor; the Exhibit of Successful Experiences at the level of Epidemiology, sponsored by the National Health Surveillance Department of the Ministry of Health, which started by resuming the theme of the Seminar of Uses and Prospects in Epidemiology, held in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 20 years ago; the Brazilian and International Sanitary Surveillance Symposium, also hosted by ABRASCO. All these events will certainly result in regular contributions to RBE, evaluated by the usual peer review process. In addition to special issues and supplements that will gather some of the debates and presentations in Conferences, Round Tables, Symposiums and Workshops.
In this number, we are publishing 10 original articles, which underwent the regular process. Even the article we regarded as a contribution to our Endemic and Epidemic line was spontaneously submitted. As usual, we have had wide institutional and geographic diversity, with a highlight to papers from the south: three from Rio Grande do Sul, one from Uruguay, another one from Argentina. Also as usual, we have had some articles by a single author, with an average of 3.3 authors per article.
A case-control study, conducted at the National Oncology Institute of Montevideo, Uruguay, analyzes the factors related to lifestyle and the association with esophagus cancer. It excludes the obvious alcohol and tobacco relation and focuses its attention on the traditional mate infusion.
A proposal to validate a food frequency questionnaire for children under five was developed by teachers of USP's School of Public Health. It is part of a more ambitious project of associating childhood diet habits to the development of adulthood diseases.
Still with children, under six, we have a study from the Federal University of Pelotas and Federal University of Rio Grande, both from the state of Rio Grande do Sul, associated to the National Coordination of the Pastoral da Criança, from Curitiba, Paraná. It addresses the prevalence of anemia in children in this age group seen by the Pastoral in Pelotas, RS. A household interview questionnaire and tests compare hemoglobin concentration with biological, environmental and social factors.
Also from Pelotas, a case-control study investigated the association between cleft lip and cleft palate with social factors and family history of malformations. It has an important feature: it associates two universities from Pelotas and one from Passo Fundo, all in RS, and its work team includes an expressive number of undergraduate students associated to two Genetics professors.
A group of UNIFESP (São Paulo Federal Medical School) members of a "Japanese-Brazilian Diabetes Study Group" studied anthropometric features in a sample of first- and second-generation Japanese-Brazilians. They discussed propensity to overweight, obesity and abdominal fat distribution for both genders.
From the National University of Rosário, Argentina, a study addressed under-reporting of maternal deaths in the Province of Santa Fé and its reduction when one specific item on this cause of death was included. Results are striking and the study is the example of a successful "observational intervention study".
Maternal mortality is also the object of a study conducted in Brazilian capitals by teachers of USP's School of Public Health. They used a method based on death certificates and estimated an adjustment factor through home interviews, investigation of medical records and autopsy reports.
Hospital morbidity and mortality due to traffic accidents were analyzed in São José dos Campos, state of São Paulo, by a researcher linked to the City Administration. He suggested using the Hospital Information System as an additional source for the Mortality Information System to monitor road traffic accidents.
In a paper we regard as a contribution to our line on "Endemics and Epidemics", we have published a study on viral hepatitis prepared at the Hospital das Clínicas of Porto Alegre, RS. The authors belong to the Pediatric Gastroenterology Department and to the Group of Child Liver Transplant. They consider the heterogeneity of the actions implemented in Brazil by the health system and by the uneven incorporation of diagnostic and therapeutic technologies. They have made a brief review of the epidemiology and proposals for prevention of the most frequent types of hepatitis.
Also in line with the analyses of current endemics and epidemics, we are publishing the study of a researcher of the Health Department of the State of São Paulo that analyzes morbidity-mortality trends in AIDS in the City of São Paulo. The paper analyzes incidence per gender and homogeneous socioeconomic areas, based on the Social Exclusion Map of the City of São Paulo.
May next year witness our definitive consolidation.
Enjoy your reading.
The Editor
Publication Dates
-
Publication in this collection
08 Mar 2005 -
Date of issue
Dec 2004
