Aggregation and Insurance Mortality Estimation

One goal of government health insurance programs is to improve health, yet little is known empirically about how important such government interventions can be in explaining health transitions. We analyze the child mortality effects of a major health insurance expansion in Costa Rica. In contrast to previous work in this area that has used aggregated ecological designs, we exploit census data to estimate individual-level models. Theoretical and empirical econometric results indicate that aggregation can introduce substantial upward biases in the insurance effects. Overall we find a statistically significant but quite small effect of health insurance on child mortality in Costa Rica.

Branching on multi-aggregated variables

open5siopenGamrath, Gerald; Melchiori, Anna; Berthold, Timo; Gleixner, Ambros M.; Salvagnin, DomenicoGamrath, Gerald; Melchiori, Anna; Berthold, Timo; Gleixner, Ambros M.; Salvagnin, Domenic

Diet and Leukocyte Telomere Length in a Population with Extended Longevity: The Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES)

Elderly Costa Ricans have lower mortality rates compared to their counterparts from developed countries. Reasons for this survival advantage are not completely known. In the present study, we aimed to identify dietary factors associated with leukocyte telomere length (LTL), a marker of biologic aging, in the elderly population of Costa Rica. We conducted prospective analysis in 909 participants aged 60+ years from the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES). We used a food frequency questionnaire to assess usual diet. We calculated dietary patterns using Principal Component Analysis (PCA). We used generalized linear models to examine the association of dietary patterns and food groups with leukocyte telomere length. We found two major dietary patterns explaining 9.15% and 7.18% of the total variation of food intake, respectively. The first dietary pattern, which represents a traditional Costa Rican rice and beans pattern, was more frequent in rural parts of the country and was positively associated with baseline LTL: (95% CI) = 42.0 base-pairs (bp) (9.9 bp, 74.1 bp) per one-unit increase of the traditional dietary pattern. In analysis of individual food groups, intake of grains was positively associated with baseline LTL: (95% CI) = 43.6 bp (13.9 bp, 73.3 bp) per one-serving/day increase of consumption of grains. Our results suggest that dietary factors, in particular a traditional food pattern, are associated with telomere length and may contribute to the extended longevity of elderly Costa Ricans.Universidad de Costa Rica/[]/UCR/Costa RicaNational Institutes of Health/[P30 AG012839]/NIH/Estados UnidosNational Institutes of Health/[R01 AG031716]/NIH/Estados UnidosUCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro Centroamericano de Población (CCP)UCR::Vicerrectoría de Docencia::Ciencias Básicas::Facultad de Ciencias::Escuela de Biologí

Herpes Simplex Virus Type 2 Antibodies: High Prevalence in Monogamous Women in Costa Rica

We studied the prevalence of antibody to Herpes simplex virus types I and 2 (HSV-I and HSV-2) in 766 randomly selected Costa Rican women 25-59 years of age in a national household survey in 1984-1985. Overall, 97.1% were seropositive for HSV-l and 39.4% for HSV -2. Only 1.1% of HSV -2 seropositive women gave a history of symptomatic genital herpes. HSV-2 virus antibody increased with age and with the number of lifetime sexual partners. HSV -2 seroprevalence among women who reported only 1 lifetime sexual partner was almost twice as high as the prevalence among women who denied sexual experience (30.5% vs. 17.7%) and reached 79.2% among women with \u3c 4 partners. HSV-2 seroprevalence was lower among women whose partners used condoms: 28.9% for those who had used condoms for at least 2 years vs. 44.3% for those who never used condoms

Spitzer, Near-Infrared, and Submillimeter Imaging of the Relatively Sparse Young Cluster, Lynds 988e

We present {\it Spitzer} images of the relatively sparse, low luminosity young cluster L988e, as well as complementary near-infrared (NIR) and submillimeter images of the region. The cluster is asymmetric, with the western region of the cluster embedded within the molecular cloud, and the slightly less dense eastern region to the east of, and on the edge of, the molecular cloud. With these data, as well as with extant H$\alpha$ data of stars primarily found in the eastern region of the cluster, and a molecular $^{13}$CO gas emission map of the entire region, we investigate the distribution of forming young stars with respect to the cloud material, concentrating particularly on the differences and similarities between the exposed and embedded regions of the cluster. We also compare star formation in this region to that in denser, more luminous and more massive clusters already investigated in our comprehensive multi-wavelength study of young clusters within 1 kpc of the Sun.Comment: 21 pages, 6 tables, 13 figures. Full resolution figures at: http://astro.pas.rochester.edu/~tom/Preprints/L988e.pd

Cultura Política de la Democracia en Costa Rica: 2006

El presente estudio sobre la cultura política democrática en Costa Rica en el año 2006 da seguimiento a un estudio similar realizado dos años atrás y forma parte de un esfuerzo más amplio de investigación comparada que, en esta ocasión, se realizó en diecisiete países de América Latina. La investigación procura no solo comparar la cultura política de los países, sino crear una herramienta útil para dar seguimiento a los cambios que éstas experimenten a lo largo del tiempo. La coordinación técnica de la investigación para toda la región estuvo a cargo de Mitchell Seligson, Profesor de la Universidad de Vanderbilt y creador del proyecto LAPOP. En Costa Rica, la investigación estuvo a cargo del Centro Centroamericano de Población de la Universidad de Costa Rica (CCP-UCR). En esta ocasión, el estudio de Costa Rica se basa en los resultados de una encuesta nacional sobre valores, actitudes y opiniones que se realizó en el mes de junio de 2006, mediante la cual se entrevistaron a 1.500 personas, con un tamaño y diseño similar al del estudio del 2004, lo que facilita las comparaciones entre ambos. Al igual que en la ronda 2004, el cuestionario aplicado tiene un tronco común, compartido con el conjunto de los países incluidos en el estudio, así como temas específicos desarrollados para el caso costarricense. El estudio del 2006 constata la existencia de importantes cambios en las actitudes ciudadana en una serie de factores relevantes de la vida política y social del país. De manera resumida estos cambios son los siguientes: se experimentó una baja simultánea en el apoyo al sistema, que fue acompañada por una disminución generalizada de la confianza en las principales instituciones públicas y actores sociales del país, mientras que, en el lapso de dos años, se registró un fuerte incremento en la sensación de inseguridad.UCR::Vicerrectoría de Investigación::Unidades de Investigación::Ciencias Sociales::Centro Centroamericano de Población (CCP