Prevalencia de factores de riesgo cardiovascular clásicos en población adulta de Talca, Chile, 2005 / Prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors in adult from Talca, Chile

Background: Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has several traditional risk factors (RF), and some of them are potentially modifiable. Aim: To determine the prevalence of most common risk factors in adult population in Talca in Central Chile. Subjects and methods: We studied 1007 subjects aged 18 to 74 years (66 percent women), living in Talca, selected by a probability sampling. They answered a questionnaire and anthropometry, blood pressure, lipid profile and blood glucose were measured. Results: Thirty seven percent of subjects smoked, 70.1 percent had a body mass index over 25 kg/m² and 41 percent had an abnormally high circumference. High blood pressure was found in 37 percent (36 percent of these subjects were unaware of this condition), 44.5 percent had hypercholesterolemia, 21.5 percent had low HDL cholesterol, 40.1 percent had hypertriglyceridemia and 26.3 percent had high blood glucose levels. Conclusions: There is a high prevalence of risk factors for CVD in adult population from Talca. The prevalence of risk factors is higher than that reported by the 2003 National Health Survery.

Diferenciales de mortalidad infantil por malformaciones congénitas con datos pareados: Chile 1993-1995 / Infant mortality differentials from congenital malformations with linked records: Chile 1993-1995

Background: The analysis of infant mortality from congenital malformations, which at present is the main group of causes of this mortality in Chile, suggests that it could be decreased with a good knowledge of its conditioning factors. Aim: To study infant mortality differentials from congenital malformations with linked records, in the 1993 to 1995 Chilean birth cohorts. Material and methods: Analysis of mortality differentials in 1993,1994 and 1995 birth cohorts. Multivariate logistic regression of mortality from congenital diseases. Results: Univariate analysis showed that mortality is highest in the Southern regions of the country (VII to XII) and in rural areas. It is also higher in children from older and from very young mothers, it increases along with the birth order of the child and decreases with increasing educational level of the mother. Multiple logistic regression analysis, confirmed the higher mortality in the Southern regions, aged mothers, high birth order of the child and low educational level of the mother. However no significant influence of rurality nor greater mortality in children of very young mothers was found. Conclusions: These results can be attributed to the fact that this type of analysis permits the control with other variables. Although the mortality data showed interesting relationships with the independent variables, a registry of all live births and stillbirths with congenital anomalies, that would provide greater numbers and data on non fatal anomalies, would be desirable to better study their causal factors

Evaluación de la composición corporal en niñas, usando impedanciometría bioeléctrica y pliegues subcutáneos / Assessment of body composition in girls by bioelectrical impedance and skinfold anthropometry

La estimación de los pliegues subcutáneos (PS) para evaluar composición corporal ha sido utilizado durante años, sin embargo, su uso tiene limitaciones. La impedanciometría bioeléctrica (BIA) es un nuevo método cuyo uso ha sido recomendado para adultos. Objetivos: evaluar si la BIA para estimar grasa corporal (GC) tiene una precisión comparable a la obtenida usando PS en pediatría. Material y métodos: se determinó porcentaje GS usando las ecuaciones de Slaugther para PS y Deurenberg, Houtkooper, Schaefer y Cordain para BIA en 50 niñas entre 9 y 11,6 años. Resultados: el nivel de concordancia, evaluado por el método de Bland y Altman, entre porcentaje GC derivado de las ecuaciones BIA y PS, fue pobre, con una diferencia promedio de 5 por ciento promedio 2DE (-5,5 a 15,5). Conclusiones: en la determinación de GC la BIA no arroja cifras concordantes con las obtenidas por PS, por lo cual no es adecuado recomendar su uso en pediatría