2255-4823/$ – see front matter © 2013 Elsevier Editora Ltda. All rights reserved. ASSOCIAÇÃO MÉDICA BRASILEIRA REVISTA DA www.ramb.org.br ARTIGOS ARTIGOS ORIGINAIS _____________ Qualidade da informação da internet disponível para pacientes em páginas em português ___________________________________________________________ 645 Acesso a informações de saúde na internet: uma questão de saúde pública? ______ 650 Maus-tratos contra a criança e o adolescente no Estado de São Paulo, 2009_______ 659 Obesidade e hipertensão arterial em escolares de Santa Cruz do Sul – RS, Brasil ___ 666 Bone mineral density in postmenopausal women with and without breast cancer ___ 673 Prevalence and factors associated with thoracic alterations in infants born prematurely __________________________________________________ 679 Análise espacial de óbitos por acidentes de trânsito, antes e após a Lei Seca, nas microrregiões do estado de São Paulo ___________________________________ 685 Sobrevida e complicações em idosos com doenças neurológicas em nutrição enteral ______________________________________________________ 691 Infliximab reduces cardiac output in rheumatoid arthritis patients without heart failure ______________________________________________________ 698 Análise dos resultados maternos e fetais dos procedimentos invasivos genéticos fetais: um estudo exploratório em Hospital Universitário _______________ 703 Frequência dos tipos de cefaleia no centro de atendimento terciário do Hospital das Clínicas da Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais __________________ 709 ARTIGO DE REVISÃO ______________ Influência das variáveis nutricionais e da obesidade sobre a saúde e o metabolismo __ 714 EDITORIAL Conclusão: como exibir a cereja do bolo 633 PONTO DE VISTA Os paradoxos da medicina contemporânea 634 IMAGEM EM MEDICINA Obstrução duodenal maligna: tratamento endoscópico paliativo utilizando prótese metálica autoexpansível 636 Gossypiboma 638 DIRETRIZES EM FOCO Hérnia de disco cervical no adulto: tratamento cirúrgico 639 ACREDITAÇÃO Atualização em perda auditiva: diagnóstico radiológico 644 SEÇÕES ____________________________ www.ramb.org.br Revista da ASSOCIAÇÃO MÉDICA BRASILEIRA REV ASSOC MED BRAS. 2013;59(4):310-311 Correspondence Reply to “Muscular static strength test performance and health: absolute or relative values?” Resposta a “Desempenho do teste de força muscular estática e saúde: valores relativos ou absolutos?” Dear Editor, We carefully analyzed Prestes & Tibana’s comments in the correspondence entitled “Muscular static strength test performance and health: absolute or relative values?”, and we appreciate the interest in our work, as well as the possibility of engaging in academic dialogue. Initially, Prestes & Tibana stated the objective and part of the results of our article. They describe the significant differences between hypertensive and normotensive patients, the main theme of the publication. Hypertensive patients presented higher average values compared to normotensive patients for the following variables: body mass (BM); body mass index (BMI); waist circumference; age; and systolic, diastolic, and average blood pressure. However, the same comparison did not present a statistically significant difference in performances in static, right-hand and left-hand grip, lumbar, and scapular strength tests.1 Prestes & Tibana indicate the importance of adjusting the static muscle strength, dividing its (absolute) result by BM, relating the muscular strength results to BM (relative static muscular strength [RSMS]). Conversely, this adjustment in our article curiously favors normotensive patients, as, because they show lower BM, they present more relative static muscular strength. The following discussions were based on the studies referred to by Prestes & Tibana. Each of them has its brief description presented separately, using the points deemed most important. The objective of the article “Avaliação da pressão arterial em mulheres sedentárias e sua relação com a força muscular” [Evaluation of sedentary women’s blood pressure and its relation to muscle strength]2 is similar to that of the article under discussion. However, the authors used RSMS. Patients were divided in tertiles according to RSMS: tertile-1 presented the highest RSMS, and tertile-3 presented the lowest RSMS. Not surprisingly, the tertile-1 group presented the lowest BM, and the tertile-3 group presented the highest BM. A significant difference was observed for RSMS in the three groups, but for BM only between the tertile-1 and tertile-3 groups. This evidence was also observed in the article “Relação da circunferência do pescoço com a força muscular relativa e os fatores de risco cardiovascular em mulheres sedentárias” [Relation of neck circumference with relative muscle strength and cardiovascular risk factors in sedentary women],3 published by the same research group. In this case, the objective was to compare the values of relative muscle strength and cardiovascular risk factors in sedentary Brazilian women with different values of neck circumference (NC). The authors chose 35 cm as the NC cutoff point (with no further theoretical/statistical basis); comparing the groups, a difference in BM could again be observed and, subsequently, a difference in RSMS. In the third study, “Comparação da força muscular entre mulheres brasileiras com e sem síndrome metabólica” [Comparison of muscle strength between Brazilian women with and without metabolic syndrome],4 the authors compared women with and without metabolic syndrome. The results presented a statistically significant difference in the BM, which was higher in women with metabolic syndrome. Subsequently, when comparing RSMS, healthy women presented a higher result. Apparently, there appears to be a mistake in the inter- pretation of the findings of the aforementioned studies, which is caused by the adjustment of muscle strength estimates by BM. The linear relation of BM and other involved variables appears to strongly affect the findings. This aspect appears to be more evident when lower muscle strength is observed REV ASSOC MED BRAS. 2013;59(4):310-311 311 in women with metabolic syndrome, as there is no direct relation between muscle strength and all the components of such syndrome. The adjustment by fat-free mass also needs to be considered carefully, as the total amount of muscle mass (whole body) does not necessarily affect the strength in a hand-grip test. The size of the samples and the methodological design of the studies referred to by Prestes & Tibana do not allow the suggestion that the use of RSMS produces results that allow for a better comprehension of the relation between muscle strength and general health parameters. We believe that the use of a multivariate model, as is the case of linear regression, could help to clarify the interrelations among the involved variables. In our research, the non-parametric distribution observed prevented the use of these statistical adjustments in order to control potential confounding factors. Thus, the foregoing indicate that the use of muscle strength related to BM as a health risk indicator needs to be better explored in the attempt to elucidate whether it is indeed the best methodological option. R E F E R E N C E S 1. Cavazzotto TG, Tratis L, Ferreira SA, Fernandes RA, Queiroga MR. Muscular static strength test performance: comparison between normotensive and hypertensive workers. Rev Assoc Med Bras. 2012;58(5):574-9. 2. Tibana RA, César D, Tajra V, Vieira A, Franz CB, Pereira GB, et al. Avaliação da pressão arterial em mulheres sedentárias e sua relação com a força muscular. Rev Bras Promoção Saúde. 2012;25(3):337-43. 3. Tibana RA, Teixeira TG, De Farias DL, Silva AO, Madrid B, Vieira A, et al. Relação da circunferência do pescoço com a força muscular relativa e os fatores de risco cardiovascular em mulheres sedentárias. Einstein (São Paulo). 2012;10(3): 329-34. 4. Tibana RA, Tajra V, César D, De Farias DL, Teixeira TG, Prestes J. Comparação da força muscular entre mulheres brasileiras com e sem síndrome metabólica. ConScientiae Saúde. 2011;10(4):708-14. Timothy Gustavo Cavazzottoa,*, Luriam Tratisa, Sandra Aires Ferreirab, Rômulo Araújo Fernandesc, Marcos Roberto Queirogab aLaboratory of Experimental Physiology and Physiology Applied to Physical Activities, Universidade Estadual do Centro Oeste (UNICENTRO), Guarapuava, PR, Brazil bDepartment of Physical Education, UNICENTRO, Guarapuava, PR, Brazil cDepartment of Physical Education, Universidade Estadual Paulista, Presidente Prudente, SP, Brazil *Corresponding author. E-mail: tcavazzotto@yahoo.com.br (T.G. Cavazzotto).