[Review of the original articles published by primary care professionals in Catalonia]. / Revisión de los artículos originales publicados por profesionales de atención primaria en Cataluña.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the characteristics of the research work published by Primary Care professionals in Catalonia between 1989 and 1991, with an analysis of the preferred research areas, design type and different bibliometric features, with the aim of finding what is the real state of Primary Care research in Catalonia. DESIGN: Descriptive study based on checking all the original articles published between January 1989 and December 1991 in nine Spanish journals in the Primary Care, internal medicine and paediatrics fields. SETTING: Included were studies carried out by Primary Care professionals in Catalonia, either working alone or in collaboration, and which were relevant to Primary Care. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: A total of 63 articles were surveyed. The average number of authors per article was 5.8 +/- 2.4. The majority of the signatories were Family and Community Medicine (FCM) specialists. 65.1% of articles were by professionals from FCM teaching units. The most common research areas were epidemiology, clinics and prevention. 74.6% of the articles were descriptive. 69.8% used some technique of inferential statistics. The average number of bibliographical quotations was 18.9 +/- 10.4: with the journal Atención Primaria the most quoted. CONCLUSIONS: This study revealed the type of research being undertaken in the Primary Care field in Catalonia.

[A study of the prevalence of alcohol consumption in the Baix Ebre region (Tarragona)]. / Estudio de la prevalencia del consumo de alcohol en la comarca del Baix Ebre (Tarragona).

A cross-sectional study was carried out in the Baix Ebre region about the prevalence of alcohol use, within a wider study of hypertension and other risk factors. The following characteristics were considered for the elaboration of the present study: non drinker, moderate drinker and heavy drinker, as well as the amount of alcohol intake related with demographic, socioeconomical and cultural variables such as: age, sex, urban or rural medium, marital status, place of origin, working status, social and professional level, and educational status. 64.2% of the whole population greater than or equal to 20 years were usual alcohol users, and so were 79.4% of males and 48.2% of females. According to the definition of heavy or excessive drinker, such were 21.8% of males and 2.6% of females. Males drank a higher alcohol amount, with a mean and standard deviation of 47.1 +/- 35.5. In females, these figures were 19.4 +/- 12.4 g per day. The rate of alcohol drinkers was higher in young individuals, in those with active working status, in those with medium social and professional level, and in those with medium and high educational status.

[Hypertrophic osteopathy and acropachy associated with noncirrhotic alcoholic liver disease. Apropos a case]. / Osteoartropatía hipertrófica y acropaquia asociados a enfermedad hepática alcohólica no cirrótica. A propósito de un caso.

Hypertrophic osteoarthropathy (HOA) may be an idiopathic condition or may be secondary to other diseases, the most common of which is bronchogenic carcinoma. Among non neoplastic etiologies, it is commonly associated with chronic liver disease, usually cirrhosis and chronic active hepatitis. The concomitant occurrence of HOA and hepatic steatosis is another association that has recently been reported. We report here a 70-year-old male with periostitis, clubbing of the fingers and alcoholic hepatitis stenosis. We emphasize the need to perform observational studies to validate this association.

[Arterial hypertension in the Baix Ebre region (Tarragona)]. / La hipertensión arterial en la comarca del Baix Ebre (Tarragona).

The results of a cross-sectional study for the evaluation of the prevalence of hypertension in the Baix Ebre region (Tarragona) are reported. 628 individuals from a randomly selected sample of 670 gave their consent to participate. The study was based on interview and examination at the patients home after getting an appointment by post. The prevalence of hypertension was 31.84 +/- 3.64%, and that of borderline hypertension 16.56 +/- 2.97%. Only 57% of hypertensives were previously known as such, and only 18.5% of these were being correctly treated. There was a significant association of hypertension with age (basically systolic blood pressure for women); also with alcohol intake, obesity and family history of hypertension or cardiovascular disease. There was no significant correlation with sex, residence in rural or urban areas, emigration, marital status, occupational status, social and professional level, education, or with the coexistence of hypertension in the spouse. The high prevalence of hypertension was a remarkable finding, consistent with its recognized importance as a first rate health problem.