ABSTRACT
Background: The prevalence of diabetes mellitus in Latin America is not well known. Aim: To study the real prevalence of diabetes mellitus (DM) and its associated risk factors in the VII region of Chile. Material and Methods: A probabilistic sample of 1,325 subjects over the age of 20, stratified by age and differentiated by place of residence was studied. The criteria of the World Panel of Experts convened by the World Health Organization in 1997, was used to define the presence of diabetes (two fasting blood glucose values over 126 mg/dl or a blood glucose over 200 mg/dl, 2 hours after a 75 g carbohydrate oral load). Results: The global prevalence estimated for DM in this population was 5.39 percent. The calculated prevalence in subjects between 20 and 44 years was 1.88 percent (CI 0.39-3.37); between 45 and 64 years, 10.75 percent (CI 8.35-13.14); 65 years or older 11.30 percent (CI 8.00-14.60), p <0.05. The prevalence was 5.8 percent in urban areas and 4.5 percent in rural areas. Forty five percent of diabetics were not aware of their condition. Forty eight percent of diabetics and 31 percent of non diabetics were hypertensive (p <0.01), whereas 47.8 percent of diabetics and 24.6 percent of non diabetics had at least one diabetic parent (p <0.01). Smoking was less frequent in diabetics than in non diabetics (15.7 and 24.3 percent respectively, p <0.05). Ninety percent of both diabetics and non diabetics were sedentary. Discussion: Health care systems require an epidemiological monitoring system to provide information about the prevalence of diabetes mellitus and to control the evolution of patients
Subject(s)
Humans , Male , Adult , Female , Middle Aged , Diabetes Mellitus , Blood Glucose , Risk Factors , Age Distribution , Sex DistributionABSTRACT
Background: In 1998, there were 1,218 deaths in Chile caused by prostate cancer. This figure results in a death rate of 16.6 per 100,000 males for this disease. Aim: To assess the prevalence of prostate cancer in the Seventh Region of Chile. Material and methods: A probabilistic sample of 327 males aged 40 to 59 years old was studied. In all, a codified questionnaire was applied, a digital rectal examination was performed and a blood sample was drawn to measure prostate specific antigen. All digital rectal examinations were performed by the same observer. Patients with an abnormal rectal examination or prostate specific antigen were subjected to a prostatic biopsy under ultrasound guidance. Results: In 14 subjects, the digital rectal examination was considered abnormal and in seven, prostate specific antigen was over 4 ng/ml. All subjects with elevated prostate specific antigen had an abnormal rectal examination. In three of the 14 subjects, the biopsy showed a well differentiated adenocarcinoma. All three were aged over 50 years old. The resulting calculated prevalence of prostate cancer was 9.2 per 1,000 males (CI 4.2-14.1). Conclusions: the cost effectiveness of screening for early diagnosis of prostate cancer must be calculated, to decide its incorporation in preventive medical examinations