Diet is a major lifestyle-related risk factor of various chronic diseases. Dietary intake can be assessed by subjective report and objective observation. Subjective assessment is possible using open-ended surveys such as dietary recalls or records, or using closed-ended surveys including food frequency questionnaires. Each method has inherent strengths and limitations. Continued efforts to impr...

The objective of the present study was to compare the reliability of four partial-mouth protocols for assessing shallow, moderate, and deep sites for periodontal pocket depth and clinical attachment levels. Periodontal pocket depth and clinical attachment level measurements were recorded for 156 subjects (age > or = 30). The four models of partial-mouth protocols compared were: Model I: all sit...

OBJECTIVE To estimate landline telephone coverage effects on potential information bias in epidemiological surveys. METHODS Databases of the Pesquisa Nacional por Amostra de Domicílios (National Household Sample Survey), from 1998 to 2003, were used to estimate landline telephone coverage rates in the five Brazilian geographic regions. Multiple regression analysis was used to identify factors...

A score > or = 6 in the Fagerström Test for Nicotine Dependence (FTND), identifying high nicotine dependence, was compared with three briefer classifications: (1) Item 4: heavy smoking (more than 30 cigarettes per day); (2) Item 1: high early smoking (smoking within 30 min of waking up); and (3) a score > or = 4 by combining Items 1 and 4. The FTND scores from 1642 smokers from five samples in ...

The prevalence of infection in local communities has been used as the basis for the country-wide repartition of onchocerciasis in Cameroon, following the principles for rapid epidemiological mapping of onchocerciasis (REMO) developed by the World Health Organization. The levels of endemicity were evaluated in 349 villages by rapid epidemiological assessment (REA), a method based on the examinat...