Gasto público y salud en el mundo, 1990-2012 / A Public expenditure and world's health, 1990-2012

Introducción: La evidencia empírica dispar relacionada con el efecto del gasto público en materia sanitaria puede deberse a las importantes variaciones metodológicas de los estudios y a las diferencias significativas en la forma en que el gasto público influye dependiendo del nivel de desarrollo de los países. Objetivo: Determinar la relación entre el gasto público total del Gobierno general y la mortalidad infantil y la esperanza de vida. Métodos: Investigación realizada en una muestra de 78 países segmentada por niveles de renta, desde 1990 hasta 2012. Se constituyeron cinco submuestras de países divididos por su nivel de renta mediante un procedimiento de agrupación no jerárquico de k-medias. Se verificó la procedencia de la segmentación mediante el test de Chow. Para cada una de las submuestras construidas, se estimó el modelo correspondiente por mínimos cuadrados generales lineales y un test de cointegración. Resultados: En las submuestras superiores en nivel de renta, la salud se relacionó significativa y consistentemente con el gasto público. Sin embargo, en los países de renta inferior-baja, el coeficiente del gasto presentó un signo contrario al esperado. Conclusiones: Se demuestra un impacto positivo y de largo plazo entre el gasto público y la situación sanitaria. Sin embargo, para los países de menor renta, este parece haber superado su punto óptimo, lo que indicaría su ineficiencia en términos sanitarios. Se conjetura que lo anterior se debe a la baja capacidad institucional de estos países, lo que impide que un mayor gasto obtenga mejores resultados sanitarios(AU)

Introduction: The disparate empirical evidence related with the effect of public expenditure on health may be due to the significant methodological variations of the studies, as well as the significant differences in the way in which public expenditure influences depending on the level of development of the countries. Objective: To determine the relation among the total public expenditure of the General Government, and infant mortality and life expectancy. Methods: Research project carried out with a sample of 78 countries segmented by income levels from 1990 to 2012. By means of a non - hierarchical grouping of k - media, five sub-samples of countries were formed and divided by their income level. The origin of the segmentation was verified by means of the Chow test. Linear GLS and a cointegration test were applied on each subsample. Results: In the upper subsamples at the income level, health was significantly and consistently related to public expenditure. However, in the lower-low income countries, the expenditure coefficient showed a sign opposite to that expected. Conclusions: There is evidence of a positive and long-term impact among public expenditure and the health situation. However, for lower income countries, this seems to have surpassed its optimum point, which would indicate its inefficiency in sanitary terms. It is conjectured that this is due to the low institutional capacity of these countries, which hampers that greater expenditure obtains better sanitary results(AU)

Reasons related to tooth loss among adolescents in São Paulo, Brazil

AIM: To estimate tooth loss prevalence among adolescents in São Paulo, considering socioeconomic and demographic factors, dental service use and pain. METHODS: Data were obtained from the São Paulo Oral Health Survey 2008. The sample comprised 2858 adolescents from 15 to 19 years old from public and private schools, who underwent through an oral examination. In addition, a questionnaire was applied regarding the characterization of factors related to socioeconomics, demographics, use of dental services and pain in the last six months. At least one tooth lost was the outcome. The independent variables included gender, ethnicity, parents' schooling, type of school, number of rooms, people and cars per home, family income, dental service use, decayed teeth, toothache. A multivariate logistic regression model was used. RESULTS: The prevalence of tooth loss was 7%. The independent variables decayed tooth (RP=1.71), toothache (RP=2.04), father's schooling - elementary (RP=1.40) and per capita family income - less than 1/2 a minimum salary (RP=1.45) were associated with the outcome. CONCLUSIONS: The results suggest that socioeconomic factors may contribute to the increase of early tooth loss among adolescents.

Transición epidemiológica en América Latina: comparación de cuatro países / Epidemiological transition in Latin America: comparison of 4 countries

Material and methods: Data was obtained from official informational organizations such as Pan American Health Organization, United Nations, Latin American Center for Demography (CELADE) and World Bank. Results: Guatemala is in a pre-transition stage with a high proportion of communicable diseases as causes of death (61 percent) as compared with Mexico (22 porcent), Chile (13 percent) and Uruguay (7 percent). Mexico is in a prolonged transition situation and Chile is close to Uruguay in a post-transitional stage. Despite decreasing rates of mortality, the proportion of deaths represented by chronic diseases and injuries has increased to over 30 percent in all countries,except Uruguay. Adjusted mortality rates for cadiovascular diseases are lower in Latin American countries, as compared to Canada. However, excepting Guatemala, there are differences in the pattern of cardiovascular disease, with a higher mortality due to cerebrovascular and a lower mortality due to coronary artery diseases. Conclusions: An increment in non communicable diseases is expected for the next decades in Latin America. Analysis of demographic and epidemiological transition is crucial to define health policies and to adequate health systems to the new situations