The postponement of parenthood may increase the number of couples experiencing infertility and prolonged time to pregnancy. Previous research has revealed that childless people are not well informed regarding fertility, which may threat their childbearing intentions. This study aimed to examine fertility knowledge and childbearing intentions held by Portuguese people and their use and perceived usefulness of information sources on fertility. Participants were recruited using a random-route domiciliary approach. A total of 2404 individuals aged 18–45 were asked to complete a structured questionnaire evaluating socio-demographic characteristics, childbearing intentions, fertility knowledge and information-gathering sources regarding fertility. In total, 95.5% of the participants indicated the desire to have children in the future, and 61.7% reported that having children would contribute to life satisfaction. Most of the participants expressed the desire to have two children in the future. The discrepancy between the numbers of planned and desired children was higher in men, in participants with lower education levels, in professionally active participants and in the unemployed participants. Relationship stability seemed to be more important in influencing childbearing decisions than financial stability or family support. Participants’ knowledge regarding fertility was poor. Women, the participants who were older than 25, the participants with longer education and the participants with higher income exhibited the greatest levels of knowledge of fertility, although this knowledge was only slightly enhanced in these subgroups. Also, the participants overestimated both the chances of spontaneous pregnancy and the success rates of assisted reproduction techniques. Finally, the results revealed that websites were the main information sources used by the participants and only 18.0% of the participants had previously discussed fertility issues with their doctors. Although Portuguese men and women reported the desire to have children in the future, their knowledge regarding fertility and infertility risk was poor. In addition, participants used more general sources of information, such as website, but not specialized sources, such as their doctors. There is a real need to work with general practitioners to empower them to provide adequate fertility information to every childless patient.

Atrial fibrillation (AF) is the most common sustained arrhythmia in clinical practice and a major cause of morbidity, due to the associated risk of stroke. However, since it is often paroxysmal, it is commonly underdiagnosed and undertreated. The primary objective of this prospective study was to determine the prevalence of paroxysmal atrial fibrillation (PAF) in patients aged 40 and above in a population who underwent continuous 24-hour electrocardiographic monitoring. The secondary objectives were to determine the overall prevalence of AF/atrial flutter (AFL) regardless of the type and to compare the population with AF with the general population and patients with PAF with patients with AF. A total of 4843 consecutive patients were analyzed, 58% women, 26.2% aged 70-79 years (n=1269), 25.9% (n=1252) aged 60-69 years, and 19.0% (n=923) aged 50-59 years; the others were aged either >80 years (n=712, 14.7%) or 80 age-groups) (p80 age-groups) (p<0.001), higher prevalence of history of stroke (p=0.024), and lower levels of hypertension (p<0.001). Only 12.8% of patients with PAF were taking anticoagulant drugs. The prevalence of PAF found in a population referred for continuous 24-hour electrocardiographic monitoring for diverse reasons was 2.5% and the overall AF/AFL prevalence was 12.4%. PAF was more prevalent in younger patients. Patients with PAF showed a significantly lower prevalence of hypertension and significantly higher rates of stroke. Systematically detecting patients with PAF is a major public health concern, since early diagnosis is essential to identify candidates for oral anticoagulation and catheter ablation, which is frequently curative when applied at this stage.