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Objective: Asthma is a chronic inflammatory airway disease. In Brazil, little is known about factors associated with this disease. This study aimed to identify factors associated with asthma in 13- to 14-year-old adolescents in Fortaleza, Ceara', Brazil. Methods: It is a cross-sectional population-based study, with a probability sample of 3015 students in 2006-2007. We used the questionnaires about asthma, rhinitis and socio-demographic/environmental factors from the International Study for Asthma and Allergies in Childhood (ISAAC) protocol. Current asthma was defined as physician-diagnosed asthma and wheezing in the previous 12 months. Bivariate analysis was performed between asthma and factors included in the study, using prevalence ratio and Chi-square test. Confidence intervals (95%) and odds ratio (OR) were also calculated. Factors associated with asthma in bivariate analysis were then assessed using logistic regression. Results: Final sample was composed by 694 adolescents, 179 with asthma. Rhinoconjunctivitis and consumption of stuffed biscuits and fried snacks three or more times per week were independently and positively associated with asthma; consumption of fruits three or more times per week was negatively associated with asthma. Conclusions: Dietary factors were the most associated with asthma in this study. Besides rhinoconjunctivitis, consumption of stuffed biscuits and fried snacks (foods with high content of saturated fat) three or more times per week were independently associated with asthma as aggravating factors, while the consumption of fruits three or more times per week was associated with asthma as protective factor. Interventions acting on these factors may decrease the occurrence of asthma in this population. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: evaluate maternal mortality from January 2019 to January 2020 in the state of Ceará. Methods: this is a descriptive and retrospective ecological study. Data collection was carried out from October to November 2020, considering the time interval from January 2019 to January 2020, through information registered in a public domain database in the State of Ceará, Brazil. The variables considered to outline the profile of maternal deaths were: age group, causes, marital status, color/race and education. Data analysis was performed using descriptive statistics by frequency distribution and presented through tables. Results: 135 maternal deaths were registered, considering external, direct (most prevalent), indirect and late causes. The maternal mortality ratio in Ceará was 60.43%, whose profile of deaths was characterized by women with incomplete higher education (41.5%), brown (80%), in their 20-29 years (43%) and single (66.7%). Conclusion: the information in this study is extremely importance, as it allows the understanding of a key population, women, in addition to assisting in the design of strategies for coping with maternal mortality. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]