Health literacy, a more complex concept than knowledge, is a required capacity to obtain, understand, integrate and act on health information [1], in order to enhance individual and community health, which is defined by different levels, according to the autonomy and personal capacitation in decision making [2]. Medium levels of Health literacy in an adolescent population were found in a study conducted in 2013/2014, being higher in sexual and reproductive health and lower in substance use. It was also noticed that the higher levels of health literacy were in the area adolescents refer to have receipt more health information. The health literacy competence with higher scores was communication skills, and the lower scores were in the capacity to analyze factors that influence health. Higher levels were also found in younger teenagers, but in a higher school level, confirming the importance of health education in these age and development stage. Adolescents seek more information in health professionals and parents, being friends more valued as a source information in older adolescents, which enhance the importance of peer education mainly in older adolescents [3]. As a set of competences based on knowledge, health literacy should be developed through education interventions, encompassing the cultural and social context of individuals, since the society, culture and education system where the individual is inserted can define the way the development and enforcement of the health literacy competences [4]. The valued sources of information should be taken into account, as well as needs of information in some topics referred by adolescents in an efficient health education. Schizophrenia is a serious and chronic mental illness which has a profound effect on the health and well-being related with the well-known nature of psychotic symptoms. The exercise has the potential to improve the life of people with schizophrenia improving physical health and alleviating psychiatric symptoms. However, most people with schizophrenia remains sedentary and lack of access to exercise programs are barriers to achieve health benefits. The aim of this study is to evaluate the effect of exercise on I) the type of intervention in mental health, II) in salivary levels of alpha-amylase and cortisol and serum levels of S100B and BDNF, and on III) the quality of life and selfperception of the physical domain of people with schizophrenia. The sample consisted of 31 females in long-term institutions in the Casa de Saúde Rainha Santa Isabel, with age between 25 and 63, and with diagnosis of schizophrenia according to the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM-IV-TR). Physical fitness was assessed by the six-minute walk distance test (6MWD). Biological variables were determined by ELISA (Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay). Psychological variables were assessed using SF-36, PSPP-SCV, RSES and SWLS tests. Walking exercise has a positive impact on physical fitness (6MWD -p = 0.001) and physical components of the psychological test...

Genetic diversity of Mycobacterium tuberculosis affects immune responses and clinical outcomes of tuberculosis (TB). However, how bacterial diversity orchestrates immune responses to direct distinct TB severities is unknown. Here we study 681 patients with pulmonary TB and show that M. tuberculosis isolates from cases with mild disease consistently induce robust cytokine responses in macrophages across multiple donors. By contrast, bacteria from patients with severe TB do not do so. Secretion of IL-1β is a good surrogate of the differences observed, and thus to classify strains as probable drivers of different TB severities. Furthermore, we demonstrate that M. tuberculosis isolates that induce low levels of IL-1β production can evade macrophage cytosolic surveillance systems, including cGAS and the inflammasome. Isolates exhibiting this evasion strategy carry candidate mutations, generating sigA recognition boxes or affecting components of the ESX-1 secretion system. Therefore, we provide evidence that M. tuberculosis strains manipulate host-pathogen interactions to drive variable TB severities.

Tuberculosis imposes high human and economic tolls, including in Europe. This study was conducted to develop a severity assessment tool for stratifying mortality risk in pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) patients. A derivation cohort of 681 PTB cases was retrospectively reviewed to generate a model based on multiple logistic regression analysis of prognostic variables with 6-month mortality as the outcome measure. A clinical scoring system was developed and tested against a validation cohort of 103 patients. Five risk features were selected for the prediction model: hypoxemic respiratory failure (OR 4.7, 95% CI 2.8–7.9), age ≥50 years (OR 2.9, 95% CI 1.7–4.8), bilateral lung involvement (OR 2.5, 95% CI 1.4–4.4), ≥1 significant comorbidity—HIV infection, diabetes mellitus, liver failure or cirrhosis, congestive heart failure and chronic respiratory disease–(OR 2.3, 95% CI 1.3–3.8), and hemoglobin <12 g/dL (OR 1.8, 95% CI 1.1–3.1). A tuberculosis risk assessment tool (TReAT) was developed, stratifying patients with low (score ≤2), moderate (score 3–5) and high (score ≥6) mortality risk. The mortality associated with each group was 2.9%, 22.9% and 53.9%, respectively. The model performed equally well in the validation cohort. We provide a new, easy-to-use clinical scoring system to identify PTB patients with high-mortality risk in settings with good healthcare access, helping clinicians to decide which patients are in need of closer medical care during treatment.

Combat exposure is detrimental to physical and mental health, and is an important risk factor for Post-traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The current study aimed to develop the first section of a self-report measure (Combat Experiences Questionnaire - CEQ), and to explore its psychometric properties on Portuguese Overseas War Veterans. The Exposure to Combat Severity Scale (CEQ A), assesses the exposure severity to objective scenarios related to military combat, common to contemporary and older theaters of operations. Studies included structural analysis through Rash Model, internal consistency, convergent validity (n=708), temporal reliability (n=112) and sensibility to differentiate war Veterans with and without war-related PTSD (N=40 and N=47, respectively). The scale's structure presented adequate fit to the data, adequate psychometric properties, and discriminant validity. Thus, the CEQ A is a valid and reliable tool presenting diverse combat scenarios to assess severity of combat exposure in war Veterans.

Widespread and frequent resistance to the second-line tuberculosis (TB) medicine streptomycin, suggests ongoing transmission of low fitness cost streptomycin resistance mutations. To investigate this hypothesis, we studied a cohort of 681 individuals from a TB epidemic in Portugal. Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) analyses were combined with phenotypic growth studies in culture media and in mouse bone marrow derived macrophages. Streptomycin resistance was the most frequent resistance in the cohort accounting for 82.7% (n = 67) of the resistant Mycobacterium tuberculosis isolates. WGS of 149 clinical isolates identified 13 transmission clusters, including three clusters containing only streptomycin resistant isolates. The biggest cluster was formed by eight streptomycin resistant isolates with a maximum of five pairwise single nucleotide polymorphisms of difference. Interestingly, despite their genetic similarity, these isolates displayed different resistance levels to streptomycin, as measured both in culture media and in infected mouse bone marrow derived macrophages. The genetic bases underlying this phenotype are a combination of mutations in gid and other genes. This study suggests that specific streptomycin resistance mutations were transmitted in the cohort, with the resistant isolates evolving at the cluster level to allow low-to-high streptomycin resistance levels without a significative fitness cost. This is relevant not only to better understand transmission of streptomycin resistance in a clinical setting dominated by Lineage 4 M. tuberculosis infections, but mainly because it opens new prospects for the investigation of selection and spread of drug resistance in general.

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The Peritraumatic Dissociative Experiences Questionnaire (PDEQ) is a widely used self-report measure to assess peritraumatic dissociation, but studies evaluating its latent structure are scarce. The aims of the current study were to clarify the latent structure of PDEQ by comparing the models based on Brooks et al. (2009) and Marmar, Weiss, and Metzler (1997) and test the invariance across groups and other psychometric properties of the best-fitted model. Portuguese Colonial War Veterans participated in this study. The models were analyzed through confirmatory factor analysis in a sample of the general population of war Veterans (N = 300). In this sample, we analyzed internal consistency and convergent validity. Temporal stability was verified in a subgroup of 110 participants of this first sample. The invariance across groups and discriminant validity of the best-fitted model were assessed in 2 other independent samples with (N = 42) and without (N = 45) war-related posttraumatic stress disorder diagnosis. Findings showed that first- and second-order 2-factor models (Lack of Awareness and Depersonalization/Derealization) based on Brooks et al.’s model presented the best fit to the data and statistical equivalence. The first-order model is more appropriate from the clinical and research standpoint. This model showed invariance across groups with and without posttraumatic stress disorder, and presented adequate psychometric properties. Overall, the PDEQ according to the structure proposed by Brooks et al. is a valid, reliable, and invariant measure across groups with different degrees of peritraumatic dissociation. These results encourage its use for clinical and research purposes.

Objective: This psychometric study explores the Portuguese version of the Posttraumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) Checklist (PCL-5). It aims to clarify the best-fitting latent structure among competing PTSD models (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders-fifth edition [DSM-5], Dysphoria, Dysphoric Arousal, Anhedonia, Externalizing Behavior, And Hybrid models) and its implications for PTSD measurement. Method: Psychometric analyses were conducted in a sample from the general population of firefighters (N = 446), except the temporal stability, which was tested in a subsample of 100 participants. Results: The models presented significant differences in a global fit. The Hybrid model presented the best-fitting structure, but the DSM-5 model showed more favorable reliability and convergent validity in Confirmatory Factor Analyses. The DSM-5 model also proved to be internally consistency, temporally stable, and presented convergent validity. Conclusion: The Portuguese version of PCL-5 is reliable and valid. The findings suggest the appropriateness of the DSM-5 model to assess PTSD symptomatology, encouraging its use in clinical, and research settings. K E Y W O R D S firefighters, Portuguese version, Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5), Portuguese version, psychometric properties, PTSD model comparison