RESUMO
OBJECTIVES: This study assessed the prevalence and correlates of tobacco use among high school students in Buenos Aires, Argentina. METHODS: Anonymous, self-administered questionnaires were given to 3909 8th and 11th graders in a stratified random sample of 49 public and private schools. The instrument included items from American surveys, translated and validated among Argentinean teens. Multiple logistic regression analysis was used to estimate possible effects on smoking behavior of environment, students' personal characteristics, and their knowledge, beliefs, and attitudes regarding smoking. RESULTS: Of 8th and 11th graders, 20% and 43%, respectively, were classified as current smokers. Overall, 29% of males and 32% of females were current smokers. Students attending public schools were more likely to smoke than those in private schools (P < .05). Current smoking was associated with having a best friend who smokes, reporting that more than 50% of friends of the same sex smoke, having positive attitudes and beliefs toward smoking, and having a positive intention to smoke within the next year (all P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Over 20% of the 8th graders in our sample were current smokers; prevention efforts must therefore start early.
Assuntos
Atitude Frente a Saúde , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Fumar/epidemiologia , Fumar/psicologia , Estudantes/psicologia , Estudantes/estatística & dados numéricos , Adolescente , Distribuição por Idade , Argentina/epidemiologia , Criança , Feminino , Inquéritos Epidemiológicos , Humanos , Modelos Logísticos , Masculino , Motivação , Grupo Associado , Vigilância da População , Prevalência , Fatores de Risco , Distribuição por Sexo , Inquéritos e Questionários , Saúde da População Urbana/estatística & dados numéricosRESUMO
Urethral cultures were obtained from 90 adolescent youth, 16 of whom denied previous sexual activity. Among the sexually active boys was a group of 32 with clinically significant pyuria, consistent with the diagnosis of urethritis, on a first-part urinalysis (FPU) specimen. To relate differences in urethral microflora to sexual activity, 42 sexually active patients with a negative FPU were compared with the never sexually active group. The profile of anaerobic, but not aerobic, bacteria isolated from the urethra was related to the presence or absence of previous sexual activity. Mycoplasma species and Ureaplasma urealyticum were isolated from sexually active patients only, and may be markers of sexual activity in adolescent boys. Of the 32 patients with FPU evidence of urethritis, 22 (69%) had cultures positive for Chlamydia trachomatis, and an additional three (9%) had cultures positive for Neisseria gonorrhoeae. The findings in sexually active patients with a positive FPU were otherwise similar to those of sexually active patients without evidence of urethritis. C. trachomatis appears to be the most important agent of urethritis among adolescent boys with a positive FPU.