Background: Against a backdrop of population aging and improving survival rates for chronic noncommunicable diseases (CNCD), researchers are placing growing emphasis on health-related quality of life (HRQoL). The aim of this study was to identify the QoL assessment instruments used in population-based studies with adults conducted around the world. Methods: A systematic review of original research published in all languages between 2008 and 2018 was conducted. Systematic reviews and meta-analyses were excluded. Results: Sixty-three articles (38.1% conducted in the Americas) fitted the eligibility criteria. Based on the AHRQ checklist for cross-sectional studies and the Newcastle-Ottawa scale for cohort studies, methodological quality was shown to be fair in the majority of studies (55.6%) and good in 44.4%. The country with the highest number of publications was Brazil (20.6%). Twelve types of generic instruments and 11 specific instruments were identified. The generic instrument SF-36 was the most frequently used measure (33.3% of studies). In-home interviewing was exclusively used by 47.6% of the studies, while 39 studies (61.9%) reported the use of self-administered questionnaires. Over two-thirds of the studies (34.9%) used questionnaires to investigate the association between chronic diseases and/or associated factors. Conclusions: It was concluded that the wide range of instruments and modes of questionnaire administration used by the studies may hinder comparisons between population groups with the same characteristics or needs. There is a lack of research on QoL and the factors affecting productive capacity. Studies of QoL in older persons should focus not only on the effects of disease and treatment, but also on the determinants of active aging and actions designed to promote it. Further research is recommended to determine which QoL instruments are best suited for population-based studies.

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Estimating equations can be used when measuring the height of elderly persons is not possible. However, such methods are not always applicable; therefore, it is necessary to consider several aspects, such as sex, age, and ethnicity of the studied population to generate these equations. This study aimed to compare and validate methods of estimating the height of the Brazilian elderly nursing home residents. An accuracy study was conducted with 168 elderly persons. A total of 23 equations were quantitatively evaluated by plotting the differences in means, the Student’s t-test for paired samples, the coefficient of determination (R2), the root-mean-square error (RMSE), the interclass correlation coefficient (ICC), and by graphic analysis of the residuals. A significance value of p <0.05 was adopted. An equation was considered applicable when it had R2 >0.7, the lowest RMSE among the equations evaluated, ICC >0.7, and a confidence interval of 95%, with the smallest difference between the upper and lower limits. A greater mean height was noted among younger elderly persons and elderly men compared to up to 80 years and women elderly. Quantitative analysis revealed that equation for Puerto Ricans, using knee height and age, was the most applicable for the overall population (ICC = 0.802). The same equation was applicable for the elderly Brazilian male participants (ICC = 0.838) and for those aged 60–69 years (ICC = 0.895). None of the equations used were applicable for the height estimation of elderly women or individuals aged 70 years or more.

Resumo Objetivou-se identificar determinantes sociais em saúde associados à vivência da fome entre adolescentes escolares brasileiros. Foi realizado um estudo transversal com microdados de 16.526 adolescentes da Pesquisa Nacional de Saúde do Escolar 2015. A vivência da fome foi estimada considerando a frequência com que o adolescente havia ficado com fome por não ter comida suficiente em casa no mês anterior à pesquisa. Para a análise dos determinantes sociais em saúde foi realizada Regressão de Poisson com variância robusta. Verificou-se, no Brasil, que a vivência da fome foi de 22,8% (IC95%: 21,9-23,7) entre adolescentes. Essa associou-se diretamente ao sexo masculino (RP=1,12; IC95%: 1,07-1,16), a não ter excesso de peso (RP=1,08; IC95%: 1,04-1,13), ao consumo irregular de feijão (RP=1,20; IC95%: 1,13-1,26), de legumes e verduras (RP=1,16; IC95%: 1,09-1,22) e de frutas (RP=1,19; IC95%: 1,13-1,24), à insatisfação corporal (RP=1,26; IC95%: 1,18-1,35) e ao consumo irregular de almoço ou jantar com os responsáveis (RP=1,41; IC95%: 1,32-1,52); e inversamente ao gradiente de escolaridade materna, e às macrorregiões do complexo Centro-Sul. Os resultados indicam a coexistência da fome, comportamentos alimentares de risco nutricional, insatisfação corporal e condições de iniquidade social entre adolescentes brasileiros.

The equation 5 was applicable for estimating weight in the evaluated population and in the different strata analyzed.