Editorial

Abstract

Dear All
The broad approach of the Brazilian Journal of
Health and Biomedical Sciences shows itself again in
this issue. The papers are related to a variety of subjects
covering different populations. The current issue
contains a diversity of interesting and important studies
that use practical and convenient techniques involving
both young and elderly groups. This stimulates
the reader to be in contact with a range of possible
information in the health and biomedical sciences area
that is highly relevant and current worldwide.
In addition, several conditions related to
diseases, such as type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM),
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), knee
osteoarthritis (KOA), and frailty are presented in
the studies. Findings are presented from the clinical
evaluation of induced sputum and pulmonary function
in patients with T2DM, racial/ethnic differences in
bone mineral density, muscle function and fat mass in
young women, land-based versus water-based walking
programs in elderly women with KOA, processing speed
during attention and memory tasks as an indicator of
frailty, use of the 6-minute walking test to evaluate
patients with respiratory disease, as well as an evaluation
of the prevalence of sickle cell trait in blood donors
through a systematic review. An epidemiological
analysis of exogenous poisoning is also presented.
The objectives of the papers published in this
issue include: (i) systematizing data related to the
prevalence of sickle cell trait among blood donors;
(ii) determination of racial/ethnic differences in bone
mineral density, muscle function and fat mass in
women of Caucasian, East-Asian, South-Asian, Hispanic
and African-American backgrounds; (iii) investigation
of effects of a walking program with a controlled
progressive workload in water compared to land with
regard to pain, functional and physical performance,
and quality of life in elderly women with KOA; (iv)
characterization of the processing speed during
attention and memory tasks in a geriatric population
in different states of frailty in order to verify the
factors that most contribute to the frailty phenotype;
(v) comparative cross-sectional study of the 6-minute
walking test data with inclusion of individuals with
systemic sclerosis, idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis and
COPD; (vi) evaluation of cellularity, albumin and
interleukin-1 levels in induced sputum to determine
respiratory function parameters in patients with
T2DM; and (vii) observation of patterns in cases of
exogenous poisoning in a region of the State of Minas
Gerais, Brazil.
Readers of the BJHBS may expect to access relevant
discussions of subjects in Health and Biomedical
Sciences.