Caracteristicas de madres gestantes y sus recien nacidos en relacion con la edad de las madres en el departamento de Caldas (Colombia), 2003-2008 / Characteristics of pregnant women and their newborn in relation to age inthe Caldas Department (Colombia) between years 2003 and 2008

Antecedentes: Las edades maternas extremas se han considerado como la principal causa de alteraciones en el recien nacido, destacándose problemas en la talla, el peso y el perimetro cefalico. Materiales y metodos: Estudio de corte trasversal con 14124 recien nacidos de madres de todas las edades registrados en la base de datos del CLAP (Centro Latinoamericano de Perinatologia) en el departamento de Caldas (Colombia, Suramerica), durante el periodo de 2003 a 2008, de la cual se analizaron 44 variables consideradas significativas para la realizacion del estudio. Resultados: Se encontro que las maternas con edades superiores a los 35 anos constituyen el grupo etario con mayor numero de alteraciones en los neonatos, como son el bajo peso, que se asocio con mayor muerte perinatal; mayor numero de patologias cronicas asociadas a bajos Apgar al nacimiento y mayores probabilidades de necesidad de reanimacion para los recien nacidos. Las maternas menores de 18 anospresentaron productos con menor talla y perímetro cefalico, sin encontrarse relacion con problemas posteriores. Conclusiones: Los datos disponibles indican que la edad materna influye sobre las caracteristicas del recien nacido, particularmente en cuanto a talla, perimetro cefalico y peso, datos que concuerdan con la literatura medica.

Validación del cuestionario de calidad de vida (WHOQOL-BREF) en adultos mayores chilenos / Validation of the WHOQOL-BREF quality of life questionnaire among Chilean older people

Background: The WHOQOL-BREF is a generic questionnaire to measure quality of life created by the Study Group on Quality of Life of the World Health Organization. Aim: To adapt and evaluate the psychometric properties of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF instrument in a group of Chilean older subjects living in Metropolitan Santiago. Material and Methods: A linguistic-cultural adaptation of the Spanish version of the WHOQOL-BREF was performed and tested in a pilot study. Subsequently, the modified scale was applied to a group of 1186 older women aged 72 ± 8 years and 334 men aged 72 ± 7 years. The psychometric properties such as internal consistency, item-total correlation of responses, and construct validity were evaluated. A confirmatory factor analysis was done to check if the dimensions described in the original version, were evaluated. Analyses were performed with STA-TA statistical software 10.0 and LISREL 8.50. Results: Confirmatory factor analysis confirmed that the dimensionsphysical health, psychological, social relationships and environment, described by the authors in their original description, were maintained. The instrument had a good internal consistency with a Cronbach alpha of 0.88 for the total scale and rangingfrom 0.70 to 0.79 in each of the dimensions. Conclusions: The evaluated version of the WHOQOL-BREF has an acceptable reliability and validity, and suggests that it is suitable for the assessment of Quality of Life in elderly people in Chile.