Background: Medical students are a vulnerable population to develop depression and anxiety disor-

Revista da Sociedade Brasileira de Medicina Tropical 45(2):260-262, mar-abr, 2012Antibody levels in children after 10 years of vaccination against hepatitis B: a Brazilian community-based study Níveis de anticorpos em crianças 10 anos após a vacinação contra hepatite B: um estudo brasileiro de base comunitária Glauco Danielle Fagundes¹, Fábio de Oliveira Tabalipa² and Jane da Silva² , ³ ABSTRACT Introduction: It is known that the hepatitis B (HB) vaccine is effective, but it is alarming that sudden drops of antibody levels may coincide with the onset of adolescence. Methods: Antibody levels against HB vaccine surface antigen (anti-HBs) and HB vaccine core antigen (anti-HBc) were measured on the blood samples of children with a mean age of 11.4 years. Results: About 54.8% had protective levels of anti-HBs. Of those who were anti-HBc-positive (4.4%), an average of 218.4 anti-HBs mIU/mL was found. Conclusions: Immunological protection was found in the majority of children. However, more studies are needed to elucidate the heritability of nonresponders and establish strategies against such events. Keywords: Hepatitis B virus. Vaccination. Anti-HBs. Anti-HBc. HBsAg. The vaccine against hepatitis B (HB) is included in the routine immunization schedule for children in most countries and has been proven effective in long-term reduction of chronic HB virus (HBV) infections¹. It is known that the duration of immune protection of the vaccine in various populations ranges from 5 to 10 years [2][3][4] . More recent studies of longer follow-ups show that there is still sufficient anamnestic response up to 20 years after vaccination 1 . However, it is alarming that the levels of antibody against HBV surface antigen (anti-HBs) is decreasing over time [2][3][4] , and sudden drops coincide with the beginning of adolescence, the age group that historically has an increased risk for the development of HB 5 .Brazil has a variable distribution of endemicity for HBV. Most regions have a low degree of endemicity 6 . However, the southern region of Brazil includes areas of intermediate to high endemicity and has the highest incidence of Brazilian HB. The State of Santa Catarina is a component of this region, and the City of Criciúma is located in the southern part of Santa Catarina, which showed the highest number of cases for HBV infection in the state 7 . These findings may reflect a higher relative number of diagnoses, but the endemicity is still significant and worrisome.There are few long-term, large-scale population studies and community case studies to monitor the immunogenicity of the vaccination that stemmed from universal programs against HB in childhood. From a demographic standpoint, the analysis of a universal vaccination program is important to guide collective or individual conduct to rise above its failures. This study aimed at verifying different types of antibodies in children who received vaccination against HB in accordance with the standard method in the City of Criciúma in 1994 and 1995.The classic method of vaccin...

There was a direct correlation between indicators of violence and rates of admission due asthma, and an inverse correlation with indicators of development. These results suggest that social detriment can act as a risk factor for hospital admissions due to asthma.