ABSTRACT Objective To assess the prevalence and clustering patterns of cardiometabolic risk factors among low-income, female adolescents. Materials and methods Cross-sectional study involving 196 students of public schools (11-19 years old). The following risk factors were considered in the analysis: excess weight, central obesity, dyslipidemia, high blood pressure, and high fasting glucose. The ratio between observed and expected prevalence and its confidence interval were used to identify clustering of risk factors that exceeded expected prevalence in the population. Results The most prevalent risk factors were dyslipidemia (70.9%), and central obesity (39.8%), followed by excess weight (29.6%), and high blood pressure (12.8%). A total of 42.9% of adolescents had two or more risk factors, and 24% had three or more. Excess weight, central obesity, and dyslipidemia were common risk factors in the clustering patterns that showed higher-than-expected prevalence. Conclusions Clustering of risk factors (≥ two factors) among the adolescents showed considerable prevalence, and there was a non-casual coexistence of excess weight, central obesity, and dyslipidemia (mainly low HDL-cholesterol).

OBJETIVO: Avaliar o padrão pulsátil da secreção da testosterona em mulheres normais. MÉTODOS: Oito mulheres saudáveis com ciclos ovulatórios foram selecionadas. Amostras sanguíneas foram coletadas a cada dez minutos durante seis horas, começando entre 7 e 8 h da manhã, após dez horas de jejum, nas três fases do ciclo menstrual: folicular média (Dia 7), folicular tardia (Dia 12) e lútea (Dia 21). Foram mensurados: testosterona, LH e, no basal, também SHBG. RESULTADOS: A frequência dos pulsos de testosterona, média da amplitude do pulso, porcentagem do incremento da amplitude, duração e intervalos dos pulsos foram similares nas três fases (p > 0,05). A pulsatilidade do LH foi estatisticamente diferente entre as três fases (p < 0,001), caracterizando padrão característico do ciclo ovulatório normal. CONCLUSÕES: Esses dados aumentam o conhecimento sobre o padrão de secreção da testosterona no ciclo menstrual humano e representam uma contribuição para a investigação clínica, tanto no hiperandrogenismo como na síndrome de insuficiência androgênica.

OBJECTIVE: To evaluate the pattern of the pulsatile secretion of testosterone in normal menstrual cycle. METHODS: Eight healthy women with ovulatory menstrual cycles were enrolled. Blood samples were collected at ten-minute intervals for six hours, starting between 7 and 8 am, after a ten-hour fasting, in three phases: mid-follicular (Day 7), late follicular (Day 12) and mid-luteal phase (Day 21). Samples were assayed for testosterone, LH and the baseline also for SHBG. RESULTS: Testosterone pulse frequency, mean amplitude pulse, percentage of increment in pulse amplitude, mean duration of pulses and pulse interval were similar in the three phases. LH pulsatility was statistically different among the three phases (p < 0.001) representing normal ovulatory cycles. CONCLUSIONS: These data increase the knowledge about the testosterone secretion profile in the human menstrual cycle and can be used as a contribution to clinical investigation in both hyperandrogenism and androgen insufficiency syndrome.