[Factors associated with health promoting behaviors among Chilean adolescents].

BACKGROUND: Health-promoting behaviors are important to prevent diseases and prolong life in the population. People develop these behaviors throughout life. However, better benefits for health are obtained with an early development. AIM: To determine the prevalence of health-promoting behaviors among early adolescents and its associated factors. MATERIAL AND METHODS: Cross-sectional survey performed in 1,465 students of high, medium and low socio-economic status, attending fifth to eighth grades of schools located in a small Chilean city. Participants answered a questionnaire that gathered information about frequency of health-promoting behaviors such as health responsibility and nutrition, physical exercise and stress management, life appreciation, social support and different personal, school and familial factors. RESULTS: A higher frequency of health-promoting behaviors was associated with better academic achievement, better school commitment, and higher perception of school membership. It also was associated with a better perception of health status and a higher conformity with physical appearance. CONCLUSIONS: Health promoting behaviors in these children are related to a better academic achievement and a higher integration with school environment

[Smoking and alcohol use among Chilean teenagers aged 10 to 14 years].

BACKGROUND: Smoking and alcohol use are risky behaviors that can start early in life. AIM: To determine the lifetime prevalence of tobacco and alcohol use in adolescents aged 10 to 14 years and related factors. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: A survey about smoking and alcohol use was answered by 1,392 teenagers aged 10 to 14 years (46% women) from seven schools in a small city near Santiago. Personal, family, and school factors were evaluated through self-report scales. Smoking and alcohol use, as dichotomous dependent variables, were defined as having consumed any of these substances throughout life. Prevalence was calculated as percentages with 95% confidence intervals. Association analyses were conducted using multivariable logistic regression models. RESULTS: Six and eleven percent of participants reported having smoked and used alcohol in their life, respectively. Smoking was associated with age, having behavioral problems, mothers� smoking, perceiving that parents had drug problems, and not living with both parents. Alcohol use was mainly associated with age, having behavioral problems, perceiving that other students consumed drugs, alcohol use by both parents, and perceiving a lack of family support. CONCLUSIONS: Tobacco and alcohol use is highly prevalent in adolescents aged 10-14 years. There were common risk factors for smoking and alcohol use such as age and having behavioral problems, while other factors were more specific such as mothers� smoking, or parental alcohol use

Impacto subjetivo y mecanismos de afrontación en pacientes con VIH-SIDA sin acompañamiento psicológico.

Determina los mecanismos de afrontación utilizados en pacientes que viven con VIH, SIDA en el Hospital San Vicente. Identifica los procesos psicológicos subjetivos de personas que viven con VIH-SIDA en el Hospital San Vicente. Orienta a los pacientes con VIH-SIDA del Hospital San Vicente sobre la práctica sexual responsable. Amplia el conocimiento de los pacientes del Hospital San Vicente sobre el VIH-SIDA. Para seleccionar la muestra se utilizó la técnica de muestreo no probabilístico. La muestra estuvo conformada por 10 personas, que padecen VIH-SIDA de 21 años de edad en adelante, internadas en el Sanatorio San Vicente ubicado en la 11avenida “A” 12-30, zona 7, colonia La Verbena, Guatemala. La recolectar datos se realizó por medio de las técnicas siguientes: observación directa, testimonio y entrevista. Los instrumentos que se utilizaron fueron: guía de observación, grabadora y guía de entrevista. Analiza e interpreta los resultados y concluye que, los pacientes argumentan que los proceso psicológicos que experimentaron ante el diagnóstico de VIH-SIDA fueron: el miedo, la tristeza, la culpa, la desesperanza y la frustración. Ante el diagnóstico de VIH-SIDA se presentan ambos mecanismos de afrontación, centrados en la emoción y centrados en el problema en el siguiente orden: evitación o escape, posteriormente la reevaluación positiva, luego la búsqueda de soluciones y luego la ayuda social

Contemporary use of cefazolin for MSSA infective endocarditis: analysis of a national prospective cohort

Objectives: This study aimed to assess the real use of cefazolin for methicillin-susceptible Staphylococcus aureus (MSSA) infective endocarditis (IE) in the Spanish National Endocarditis Database (GAMES) and to compare it with antistaphylococcal penicillin (ASP). Methods: Prospective cohort study with retrospective analysis of a cohort of MSSA IE treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Outcomes assessed were relapse; intra-hospital, overall, and endocarditis-related mortality; and adverse events. Risk of renal toxicity with each treatment was evaluated separately. Results: We included 631 IE episodes caused by MSSA treated with cloxacillin and/or cefazolin. Antibiotic treatment was cloxacillin, cefazolin, or both in 537 (85%), 57 (9%), and 37 (6%) episodes, respectively. Patients treated with cefazolin had significantly higher rates of comorbidities (median Charlson Index 7, P <0.01) and previous renal failure (57.9%, P <0.01). Patients treated with cloxacillin presented higher rates of septic shock (25%, P = 0.033) and new-onset or worsening renal failure (47.3%, P = 0.024) with significantly higher rates of in-hospital mortality (38.5%, P = 0.017). One-year IE-related mortality and rate of relapses were similar between treatment groups. None of the treatments were identified as risk or protective factors. Conclusion: Our results suggest that cefazolin is a valuable option for the treatment of MSSA IE, without differences in 1-year mortality or relapses compared with cloxacillin, and might be considered equally effective