Sistema Regional de Información
en línea para Revistas Científicas de América Latina,
el Caribe, España y Portugal

 INTRODUCTION: Pre-pregnancy nutritional status measured through BMI (body mass index) is related to fetal growth, birth weight and neonatal mortality rate. Overweight and obesity are public health problems involving more than 650 million adults worldwide. When women become pregnant, this problem needs to be addressed during prenatal controls. In Argentina, the Perinatal Information System (SIP) published by the Latin American Center for Perinatology (CLAP) of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)/World Health Organization (WHO) is the largest perinatal database for medical records and provides information for public policy decision-making. The purpose of this study was to evaluate, using BMI, the nutritional status at the beginning of pregnancy in women attending public hospitals in the 24 provinces of Argentina. METHODS: Anthropometric measurements from the SIP for 2012-2017were processed. RESULTS: A total of 4.3% of women had low BMI, 56.5% had a normal weight, and 24.4% and 14.7% were overweight or obese, respectively, and regional variations were observed. A sustained increase in obesity was observed, going from 12.2% in 2012 to 17.5% in 2017. DISCUSSION: The time series 2012-2017 shows a sustained and statistically significant increase in obesity among women starting pregnanc

INTRODUCTION: Peer review of research proposals is the “gold standard” used by most agencies that fund health research to judge its quality. However, this process has received much criticism from the international research community. The “Dirección de Investigación en Salud” funds research proposals through calls for “Salud Investiga” grants, using the peer review procedure for the assignment of merit. In line with other public funding agencies, the process has received informal objections from the local research community. To date, the opinion regarding the evaluation process has not been formally evaluated. The objective was to evaluate the opinion of applicants for 2020 call about the experience with reviewers, the constructiveness, clarity and language of the comments, the overall satisfaction with the review and the reliability of the scores. METHODS: Self-administered voluntary electronic survey. RESULTS: The response rate was 39%. A majority of agreement was observed with those items that reflected positive perceptions/opinions regarding the peer review process, as well as a majority of disagreement with items that reflected negative perceptions/opinions. DISCUSSION: Overall, satisfaction with the process prevailed, although the degree varied significantly between those who obtained the scholarship and those who did not. 

INTRODUCTION: Suicides are a type of violence. Globally 703,000 suicides occur each year, representing one of the leading causes of death. The Americas is the only region showing an upward trend. In Argentina there are no extensive time series studies of suicide. The objective was to analyze the suicide mortality trends in Argentina between 1990 and 2019. METHODS: An ecological study was carried out with secondary sources of information. Absolute and relative frequencies, and rates were estimated. The joinpoint regression model was used to analyze trends. For the comparison of rates, the method of comparison of proportions was used with a significance level of 95%. RESULTS: Between 1990 and 2019 there were 85,189 suicides. The masculinity ratio was 3.8 men for every woman. The rates ranged from 6.1 to 8.7 deaths per 100,000 inhabitants. The highest suicide rate in both sexes and men was observed in 2003. In women, it was in 2002 and 2003. Between 2001 and 2019 there was a significant downward trend in both sexes. The frequency of deaths and the cumulative rates showed increases, regardless of the slope of the trend. DISCUSSION: The increases in suicides are consistent with what was observed in the Americas. Although the trend analysis presents a downward trend in recent years, the cumulative rates and the average number of cases show increases in suicides. The analysis of longer time series and a comparison in grouped periods are recommended.  

INTRODUCTION: Financial protection in health implies access to health services for anyone needing them without financial difficulties. Such protection is estimated through indicators such as catastrophic and impoverishing health spending. The objective of this work was to estimate these indicators for Argentina in 2017-2018. METHODS: By processing data from the National Household Expenditure Survey of 2017-2018 (ENGHo), health spending variables and indicators of catastrophic and impoverishing health spending were constructed and analyzed. A comparison was also made with the ENGHo 2004-2005. RESULTS: Households allocated 6.4% of their total expenditure to health goods and services, and 4.9% of their total income. According to ENGHo 2017-2018, with a threshold of 10%, 11.4% of households incurred catastrophic health spending, a value that dropped to 3.3% considering a 25% threshold. Compared with 2004-2005, catastrophic health spending fell regardless of the chosen threshold. Due to out-of-pocket health expenditure, households below the poverty line increased by 1.8 percentage points. DISCUSSION: The decrease in catastrophic health spending between the analyzed periods may be showing progress towards a stronger financial protection in the country. The analysis reveals the importance of having data about need, use and expenditure on health services, to achieve a better understanding of this issue. 

INTRODUCTION: The food industry uses television as a way of promoting its products. The objective was to evaluate the frequency and nutritional quality of food advertised on private free-to-air television channels in the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires. METHODS: A descriptive and cross-sectional study was conducted. Food advertisements on private free-to-air television channels were analyzed. They were recorded during weekdays and weekends from 8 am to 8 pm in August and September 2018. Nutritional quality was evaluated with the nutritional profiling system (NPS) used in Chilean Law N° 20606. RESULTS: The study analyzed 220 hours of television programming. A total of 484 food advertisements were identified, representing 12.8% of all advertisements, with a frequency of 2.2 ads per hour of programming. Sweets showed the highest frequency (28% of the ads), followed by sweet cookies (17%) and dehydrated soups (7%). According to the NPS, 55% of the food exceeded the energy limit, 56% the total sugars limit, 57% the saturated fat limit, and 20% the sodium limit. DISCUSSION: Food advertisements occupied one-tenth of the advertising space. More than half exceeded the limit of energy, total sugars and saturated fats according to the Chilean profiling system. 

INTRODUCTION: There is evidence that self-reported health is related to obesity, although the association would be mediated by diseases or conditions that affect health or by the sex or age of the person. In countries with high prevalence of obesity among adults such as Mexico or Argentina, it is essential to study the relationship between self-reported health and obesity to understand the factors that affect self-assessment. The objective was to determine that relationship among adults aged 50 and over in Mexico and Argentina. METHODS: This cross-sectional study analyzed self-assessed health in a global way regarding the definition of obesity according to body mass index. The data came from the 2018 Mexican Health and Aging Study and the 2018 National Survey of Risk Factors of Argentina. Ordinal logit regression models with partial proportional odds were constructed to determine the relationship between self-reported health and obesity, adjusting for various socioeconomic and health variables. RESULTS: A lower probability of a self-report of good health was associated with the presence of obesity, but this was only significant in women. DISCUSSION: It is necessary to explore the differences between women and men regarding the relationship between self-reported health and obesity, as well as the perception or cultural or social assessment of obesity differentiated by sex among adults from Mexico and Argentina. 

Introducción. La leishmaniosis cutánea localizada (LCL) es endémica de la península de Yucatán, principalmente en los estados de Campeche y Quintana Roo. Sin embargo, desde 2015, los Servicios de Salud de Yucatán (SSY) reportan la presencia de casos autóctonos de LCL en municipios del oriente del estado, entre ellos Chankom; sugiriendo la presencia de un foco emergente. Por lo que es pertinente concienciar a los habitantes sobre el problema de salud que les afecta, a través de estrategias educativas de prevención. Objetivo. Implementar una estrategia educativa para la prevención de LCL en Chankom, Yucatán. Material y Métodos. El estudio se realizó de marzo 2018 a diciembre 2019. Se aplicó cuestionario de conocimientos previo y posterior a la estrategia educativa. La estrategia consistió en talleres con actividades lúdicas sobre: manifestaciones clínicas, hábitat, sitios de infección, diagnóstico, tratamiento y medidas de prevención de la leishmaniosis. Resultados. Se contó con 35 participantes; principalmente mujeres 88.6% (31/35), en su mayoría amas de casa 93.4% (29/31). La actividad de los varones fue campesino. Ninguno de los participantes tenía conocimiento sobre la LCL. Veintiún integrantes (60%) tuvieron puntuaciones superiores al 80% en prueba de conocimientos aplicada 4 meses después de los talleres. Los aspectos que fueron respondidos correctamente con mayor frecuencia (>90%) fueron: modo de transmisión, nombre común y sitio en que habita el vector, población de riesgo y medidas de prevención. Conclusión. Se incrementó el conocimiento sobre leishmaniosis en Chankom, Yucatán.

Introducción: Debido a la pandemia por COVID-19, se implementó en México la Jornada Nacional de Sana Distancia para prevenir los contagios.Objetivo:  Conocer el nivel de adherencia y conocimiento sobre las medidas preventivas de COVID-19 establecidas por el gobierno de México en Mérida, Yucatán.Material y métodos:  Se realizó un estudio observacional, descriptivo, transversal con una encuesta en el grupo de Facebook “Que todo Mérida se entere” del 20 al 30 de abril de 2021.Resultados: De 173 registros, 157 fueron válidos, en su mayoría de mujeres (94). Se obtuvo un nivel de adherencia alto en 122 participantes y medio en 35, sin nivel bajo; se registró un nivel de conocimiento alto en 84 participantes, medio en 65 y bajo en 8. No se encontró asociación estadísticamente significativa con la prueba de Chi cuadrado entre nivel de conocimiento-infección por COVID-19 (p= 0.4429), nivel de adherencia-infección por COVID-19 (p= 0.078), nivel de conocimiento-contacto con familiar con COVID-19 (p=0.1548) y nivel de adherencia-contacto con familiar con COVID-19 (p=0.1318).Conclusiones: Es necesario evaluar otros factores que podrían influir en la alta incidencia de COVID-19, así como las razones de que aun con conocimiento medio o bajo se tiene un nivel de adherencia alto. 

De acuerdo con el Dr. Duarte Nuno Vieira, profesor catedrático de la Universidad de Coimbra, presidente de la Academia Internacional de Medicina Legal y de la Red Ibero-Americana de Instituciones de Medicina Legal y Ciencias Forenses y Vicepresidente de la Confederación Europea de Especialistas en Valoración y Reparación del Daño Corporal, es necesaria la formación médica en valoración integral del daño corporal, pues a este especialista le corresponde identificar, estudiar, describir, documentar y valorar, en los términos técnicos que le confiere su preparación médica, y dentro de un determinado marco legal (en derecho: penal, civil, laboral, familia y administrativo), definir los elementos del daño que son susceptibles de justificar una determinada sanción penal, la atribución de una determinada cuantía de indemnización, el otorgamiento de una pensión o el otorgamiento de determinados beneficios fiscales y sociales que el Estado entiende otorgar a quienes tienen cierto grado de discapacidad. Por lo que además de una sólida formación, el médico debe contar con condiciones naturales de imparcialidad, independencia, veracidad, objetividad, prudencia, condiciones inherentes para quien quiera ejercer una actividad de este tipo

Introducción. Los flebotomineos son vectores de la Leishmaniosis. Actualmente se usan los modelos de nicho ecológico para inferir la distribución de las especies en un área geográfica determinada. Hasta el momento, no existe evidencia sobre la inferencia de la fragmentación del nicho ecológico en flebotomineos.Objetivo. Nuestro objetivo es implementar índices paisajísticos para la interpretación de la fragmentación del nicho ecológico en tres especies de flebotomineos en Centro y Sudamérica.Material y Métodos. Se construyeron modelos de nicho ecológico para tres especies de flebotomineos en tres periodos de tiempo: pasado (Pleistoceno), presente y futuro (RCP 8.5). Finalmente, usamos FragStat para calcular dos índices: COHESIÓN y CPLAND.Resultados. El índice de COHESION fue superior al 99.8%; mientras que el índice de CPLAND fueron aumentando desde 3.4-72.1% dependiendo de la especie y el periodo.Conclusión. Se comprobó la conectividad ecológica entre los parches de la distribución geográfica proyectada de los modelos de nicho ecológico entre las tres especies de flebotomineos en Centro y Sudamérica.