Desigualdades sociais na prevalência de doenças crônicas no Brasil, PNAD-2003 Social inequalities in the prevalence of chronic diseases in Brazil, PNAD-2003

Os inquéritos de saúde de base populacional constituem o principal instrumento utilizado para conhecer a prevalência de doenças crônicas, de restrições de atividades e de uso de serviços de saúde. Com base nos dados da PNAD-2003, foram estimadas as prevalências das 12 doenças crônicas pesquisadas, segundo sexo, idade, cor, escolaridade, macrorregião de residência e situação urbana ou rural do domicílio. Foram analisados a presença de limitações e o uso de serviços de saúde segundo a presença de doença crônica. Utilizando regressão de Poisson, foram estimadas as razões de prevalências ajustadas por idade, sexo, macrorregião de residência e tipo de respondente. A prevalência de pelo menos uma doença crônica aumentou com a idade, foi maior entre mulheres, indígenas, pessoas com menor escolaridade, cidadãos detentores de plano de saúde, migrantes de outros estados, residentes em áreas urbanas e moradores da região Sul. A presença de doença crônica provocou aumento de limitação de atividades e da demanda por serviços de saúde. As condições mais prevalentes foram: doença de coluna, hipertensão, artrite e depressão. Foi detectada significativa desigualdade social no padrão das doenças crônicas, segundo gênero, cor/raça, nível de escolaridade, região de residência e situação do domicílio.<br>Population-based health surveys are the main tool for obtaining data on the prevalence of chronic diseases, disabilities and use of healthcare services. Based on the data of the PNAD-2003, this study estimated the prevalence of 12 chronic diseases according to: gender, age, skin color, educational level, macro-region and urban or rural situation of the households. We analyzed the relation between presence of disabilities and use of healthcare services due to the presence of a chronic disease. The prevalence ratios adjusted according to age, gender, macro-region and type of respondent were estimated using Poisson's regression. The prevalence of at least one chronic disease increased with age, was higher among women, the indigenous population, individuals with low educational level, individuals affiliated with a health plan, immigrants from other states, residents of urban areas and among the inhabitants of the southern region of the country. The presence of a chronic disease resulted in an increase of disability and demand for healthcare services. The most prevalent conditions were: backbone conditions, hypertension, arthritis, and depression. The survey detected marked social inequality in the pattern of prevalent chronic diseases related to gender, color/race, education, macro-region of residence, and urban and rural households

Tissue engineering and the intervertebral disc: the challenges

Disc degeneration is a common disorder. Although the back pain that can develop in association with this is rarely life-threatening, the annual cost in terms of morbidity, lost productivity, medical expenses and workers’ compensation benefits is significant. Surgical intervention as practised currently is directed towards removing the damaged or altered tissue. Development of new treatment modalities is critical as there is a growing consensus that the strategies used currently for symptomatic degenerative disc disease may not be effective. Accordingly, there is a need to develop an entirely new way to treat this disorder; regenerative medicine and tissue engineering approaches appear particularly promising in this regard. This paper reviews some of the challenges that currently are limiting the clinical application of this approach to the treatment of disc degeneration