Conocimientos y prácticas sobre lactancia materna en Cochabamba-Bolivia: un estudio departamental

Introducción: a pesar de la importancia que representa la lactancia materna; la OMS indica que ningún país en el mundo cumple plenamente las normas recomendadas para la lactancia materna. Objetivo: evaluar los conocimientos y las prácticas sobre lactancia materna y su relación con factores sociodemográficos en el departamento de Cochabamba, Bolivia. Métodos: se realizó un estudio poblacional, observacional, descriptivo de corte transversal, mediante encuestas cara a cara con 3515 cuidadores principales de niños y niñas menores de 2 años, de 45/47 municipios de Cochabamba, seleccionadas en base a la estrategia del LQAS del Sistema de Vigilancia Nutricional Comunitario. Se utilizaron métodos de estadística descriptiva; así como la regresión logística bivariada para el cálculo de Odds Ratio (OR) crudos y la regresión logística multivariada para la obtención del OR ajustado para analizar el nivel de riesgo de las variables sociodemográficas evaluadas. Resultados: 98,95% de los niños menores de 2 años lactaron; 85,6% de los niños menores de 6 meses cumplen con la lactancia materna exclusiva y solo el 14,74% de los niños mayores de 6 meses no cumplieron con el tiempo mínimo de Lactancia materna exclusiva. Los factores asociados a una inadecuada practica de lactancia materna detectados fueron: la escolaridad (OR=1,54) y el vivir en la región Metropolitana (OR=5,25) o el Trópico de Cochabamba (OR=4,56).Conclusiones: en Cochabamba Bolivia se cuenta con índices elevados de Lactancia Materna Exclusiva (86,09%) y Lactancia Materna Total (96,87%); estos indicadores se ven asociados a factores sociodemográficos como la edad, escolaridad y región de residencia. Palabras claves: lactancia materna, conocimientos, prácticas

Factores de riesgo asociados al síndrome metabólico en conductores del transporte público en Cochabamba-Bolivia

Introducción: el Síndrome Metabólico es un desorden complejo que incrementa el riego de desarrollar Diabetes Mellitus tipo 2 y Enfermedades cardiovasculares.Objetivo: analizar la prevalencia de factores de riesgo asociados al síndrome metabólico en conductores del transporte público en Cochabamba-Bolivia. Métodos: estudio observacional, analítico de corte transversal, en una población de referencia de N=246 conductores de 6 líneas de transporte de la zona sud de Cochabamba-Bolivia; alcanzando una muestra de n=69 sujetos de estudio y aplicando la metodología STEPS de la OPS/OMS. Se utilizó Chi cuadrado (X2) para la asociación estadística con el sexo; regresión logística bi-variada y multivariada para la obtención del OR crudo y ajustado en relación a los factores de riesgo asociados al SM.Resultados: las prevalencias de los factores de riesgo asociados a Síndrome Metabólico fueron: STEP-1: Tabaquismo 20,3%; consumo actual de alcohol 63,8%; bajo consumo de frutas y vegetales 94,2%; sedentarismo o bajo nivel de actividad física 66,7%. STEP-2: sobrepeso 47,8%; obesidad 37,7%; cintura de riesgo u obesidad abdominal 37,7% y presión arterial elevada en 36,4%. STEP3: Glicemia alterada en ayunas 43,9%; Resistencia a la Insulina 47,8%; colesterol total elevado 56,1%; Triglicéridos elevados 66,7% y HDL-colesterol reducido en el 60,6%.Conclusión: el síndrome metabólico es altamente prevalente en la población de conductores del transporte público de la zona sud de la ciudad de Cochabamba (79,3%); asociado al tiempo de trabajo en el rubro, el incremento de edad, la ausencia de pareja y la situación de trabajo. Palabras claves:síndrome metabólico, conductores, transporte público, Bolivia

Kardiovaskulär sjukdom i Cochabamba, Bolivia : påverkbara riskfaktorer och sociala ojämlikheter

Background: The increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) is considered one of the most important public health problems worldwide and especially in Latin American (LA) countries. Although the systematic surveillance of chronic diseases and their risk factors has been recommended, Bolivia has not yet implemented a national strategy to collect and monitor CVRF information. Evidence from previous studies in Bolivia and other Latin American countries has suggested that CVRFs affect women more than men and mestizos more than indigenous people. However, a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the CVRF situation and how ethnicity and gender intersect to affect CVRFs is dearly needed to support the development of health policies to improve population health and reduce inequalities. Objective: to estimate the distribution of CVRFs and to examine intersectional in equalities in Cochabamba – Bolivia in order to provide useful information for public health practice and decision making. The specific objectives are: i) to estimate the prevalence of preventable risk factors associated with CVDs and ii) to assess and explain obesity inequalities in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender. Methods: The data collection procedure was based on the Pan-American version (V2.0) of the WHO STEPS approach adapted to the Bolivian context. Between 2015 and 2016, 10,754 individuals aged over 18 years old were surveyed. The two first stages of the STEPS approach were conducted: a) Step 1 consisted of the application of a questionnaire to collect demographic and lifestyle data; b) Step 2 involved taking measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference of the participants. To achieve objective 1, the prevalence of relevant behavioural risk factors and anthropometric measures were calculated, and then odds ratios/prevalence ratios were estimated for each CVRF, both with crude and adjusted regression models. Regarding objective 2, an intersectionality approach based on the method suggested by Jackson et al. (67) was used to analyse the ethnic and gender inequalities in obesity. Gender and ethnicity information were combined to form four mutually exclusive intersectional positions: i) the dually disadvantaged group of indigenous women; ii) the dually advantaged group of mestizo men; and the singly disadvantaged groups of iii) indigenous men and iv) mestizo women. Joint and excess intersectional disparities in abdominal obesity were estimated as absolute prevalence differences between binary groups, using binomial regression models. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was applied to estimate the contributions of explanatory factors underlying the observed intersectional disparities. Main findings: Our findings revealed that Cochabamba had a high prevalence of CVRFs, with significant variations among the different socio-demographic groups. Indigenous populations and those living in the Andean region showed, in general, a lower prevalence for most of the risk factors evaluated. The prevalence of behavioural risk factors were: current smoking (11.6%); current alcohol consumption (42.76%); low consumption of fruits and vegetables (76.73%); and low level of physical activity (64.77%). The prevalence of metabolic risk factors evaluated were: being overweight (35.84%); obesity (20.49%); abdominal obesity (54.13%); and raised blood pressure (17.5%). It is important to highlight that 40.7% of participants had four or more CVRFs simultaneously. Dually and singly disadvantaged groups (indigenous women, indigenous men, and mestizo women) were less obese than the dually advantaged group (mestizomen). The joint disparity showed that the obesity prevalence was 7.26 percentage points higher in the doubly advantaged mestizo men (MM) than in the doubly disadvantaged indigenous women (IW). Mestizo men (MM) had an obesity prevalence of 4.30 percentage points higher than mestizo women (MW) and 9.18 percentage points higher than indigenous men (IM). The resulting excess intersectional disparity was 6.22 percentage points, representing -86 percentage points of the joint disparity. The lower prevalence of obesity in the doubly disadvantaged group of indigenous women (7.26 percentage points) was mainly due to ethnic differences alone. However, they had higher obesity than expected when considering both genders alone and ethnicity alone. Health behaviours were important factors in explaining the intersectional inequalities, while differences in socioeconomic and demographic factors played less important roles. Conclusion: The prevalence of all CVRFs in Cochabamba was high, and nearly two-thirds of the population reported two or more risk factors simultaneously. The intersectional disparities illustrate that abdominal obesity is not distributed according to expected patterns of structural disadvantages in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender in Bolivia. A high social advantage was related to higher rates of abdominal obesity, with health behaviours as the most important factors explaining the observed inequalities. The information generated by this study provides evidence for health policymakers at the regional level and a baseline data for department-wide action plans to carry out specific interventionsin the population and on individual levels

Kardiovaskulär sjukdom i Cochabamba, Bolivia : påverkbara riskfaktorer och sociala ojämlikheter

Background: The increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) is considered one of the most important public health problems worldwide and especially in Latin American (LA) countries. Although the systematic surveillance of chronic diseases and their risk factors has been recommended, Bolivia has not yet implemented a national strategy to collect and monitor CVRF information. Evidence from previous studies in Bolivia and other Latin American countries has suggested that CVRFs affect women more than men and mestizos more than indigenous people. However, a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the CVRF situation and how ethnicity and gender intersect to affect CVRFs is dearly needed to support the development of health policies to improve population health and reduce inequalities. Objective: to estimate the distribution of CVRFs and to examine intersectional in equalities in Cochabamba – Bolivia in order to provide useful information for public health practice and decision making. The specific objectives are: i) to estimate the prevalence of preventable risk factors associated with CVDs and ii) to assess and explain obesity inequalities in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender. Methods: The data collection procedure was based on the Pan-American version (V2.0) of the WHO STEPS approach adapted to the Bolivian context. Between 2015 and 2016, 10,754 individuals aged over 18 years old were surveyed. The two first stages of the STEPS approach were conducted: a) Step 1 consisted of the application of a questionnaire to collect demographic and lifestyle data; b) Step 2 involved taking measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference of the participants. To achieve objective 1, the prevalence of relevant behavioural risk factors and anthropometric measures were calculated, and then odds ratios/prevalence ratios were estimated for each CVRF, both with crude and adjusted regression models. Regarding objective 2, an intersectionality approach based on the method suggested by Jackson et al. (67) was used to analyse the ethnic and gender inequalities in obesity. Gender and ethnicity information were combined to form four mutually exclusive intersectional positions: i) the dually disadvantaged group of indigenous women; ii) the dually advantaged group of mestizo men; and the singly disadvantaged groups of iii) indigenous men and iv) mestizo women. Joint and excess intersectional disparities in abdominal obesity were estimated as absolute prevalence differences between binary groups, using binomial regression models. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was applied to estimate the contributions of explanatory factors underlying the observed intersectional disparities. Main findings: Our findings revealed that Cochabamba had a high prevalence of CVRFs, with significant variations among the different socio-demographic groups. Indigenous populations and those living in the Andean region showed, in general, a lower prevalence for most of the risk factors evaluated. The prevalence of behavioural risk factors were: current smoking (11.6%); current alcohol consumption (42.76%); low consumption of fruits and vegetables (76.73%); and low level of physical activity (64.77%). The prevalence of metabolic risk factors evaluated were: being overweight (35.84%); obesity (20.49%); abdominal obesity (54.13%); and raised blood pressure (17.5%). It is important to highlight that 40.7% of participants had four or more CVRFs simultaneously. Dually and singly disadvantaged groups (indigenous women, indigenous men, and mestizo women) were less obese than the dually advantaged group (mestizomen). The joint disparity showed that the obesity prevalence was 7.26 percentage points higher in the doubly advantaged mestizo men (MM) than in the doubly disadvantaged indigenous women (IW). Mestizo men (MM) had an obesity prevalence of 4.30 percentage points higher than mestizo women (MW) and 9.18 percentage points higher than indigenous men (IM). The resulting excess intersectional disparity was 6.22 percentage points, representing -86 percentage points of the joint disparity. The lower prevalence of obesity in the doubly disadvantaged group of indigenous women (7.26 percentage points) was mainly due to ethnic differences alone. However, they had higher obesity than expected when considering both genders alone and ethnicity alone. Health behaviours were important factors in explaining the intersectional inequalities, while differences in socioeconomic and demographic factors played less important roles. Conclusion: The prevalence of all CVRFs in Cochabamba was high, and nearly two-thirds of the population reported two or more risk factors simultaneously. The intersectional disparities illustrate that abdominal obesity is not distributed according to expected patterns of structural disadvantages in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender in Bolivia. A high social advantage was related to higher rates of abdominal obesity, with health behaviours as the most important factors explaining the observed inequalities. The information generated by this study provides evidence for health policymakers at the regional level and a baseline data for department-wide action plans to carry out specific interventionsin the population and on individual levels

El estrés innecesario durante el desarrollo de un trabajo de investigación

Considering that your journal is of massive diffusion in the local scientific community, I take advantage of this way to be able to reach the new researchers in health, to motivate them and to raise some recommendations that allow them to avoid the unnecessary stress that is generated during all process of investigation. The level of stress and its biological, psychological or other expression, will depend on the capacity of resilience that each researcher develops during their training and / or conducting research work, in any of the different types of research.Considerando que su revista es de difusión masiva en la comunidad científica local, aprovecho esta vía para poder llegar a los nuevos investigadores en salud, para motivarlos y plantearles algunas recomendaciones que les permitan evitar el estrés innecesario que se genera durante todo proceso de investigación.  El nivel de estrés y su expresión biológica, psicológica u otra, dependerá de la capacidad de resiliencia que desarrolla cada investigador durante su formación y/o conducción de un trabajo de investigación, en cualquiera de los diferentes tipos de investigación

Validez del Score de Boyer para el diagnóstico diferencial de meningitis bacteriana y no bacteriana en niños del Hospital Manuel Ascencio Villarroel. Cochabamba, Bolivia

Introducción: la meningitis es un síndrome clínico que conlleva riesgos en la morbimortalidad sobre todo en edad pediátrica, la variabilidad de las manifestaciones clínicas dependientes de la edad, ha permitido el empleo de scores que permitan objetivar la toma de decisiones sobre posibilidades etiológicas y criterios terapéuticos, tal es el caso del "Score de Boyer". Objetivo: determinar la validez del Score de Boyer y la utilidad en el diagnóstico diferencial de meningitis bacteriana y no bacteriana. Material y métodos: el presente estudio es de tipo analítico, longitudinal, prospectivo, realizado en el periodo de marzo del 2014 a enero del 2015 en el Hospital del Niño Manuel Ascencio Villarroel. La muestra fue conformada por de 32 pacientes entre las edades de 1 mes a 15 años, los cuales fueron diagnosticados de meningitis por clínica, laboratorio, y por citoquímico de líquido cefalorraquídeo. Resultados: se encontró que el 25% de la población presento el diagnóstico de meningitis bacteriana confirmado con cultivo de LCR positivo. El score de Boyer en este estudio demostró una especificidad del 92% y una sensibilidad del 100 % para el diagnóstico diferencial de meningitis bacteriana. Conclusión: el Score de Boyer es una herramienta útil, rápida, fácil para el diagnóstico diferencial de la etiología de la meningitis, en cuya asociación con otros marcadores biológicos aumenta su sensibilidad y especificidad.Palabras claves: Escala de Boyer, meningitis bacteriana, meningitis viral, diagnóstico

Factores de riesgo nutricionales asociados al Síndrome Metabólico en personal militar de la Fuerza Aérea de Cochabamba, Bolivia

Objetivo: determinar la prevalencia de factores de riesgo asociados al sindrome metabólico en personal militar de la Fuerza Aérea Boliviana. Metodos: se realizó un estudió observacional, descriptivo, de corte transversal, en personal militar activo de la II Brigada Aérea Boliviana, con una muestra de 204 personas; a los cuales se aplicó una encuesta sobre factores de riesgo metabólico, de manera individual, seguidas de un examen físico-antropométrico y la toma de una muestra sanguínea para la valoración del perfil lipídico y perfil glicemico; en base a la metodología Pasos (STEP´s) de la OPS/OMS, adecuados para Bolivia. Resultados: en relación a los factores de riesgo del síndrome metabólico se encontró que, el sobrepeso en sus diferentes grados es uno de los factores que predominan (50%) así como la obesidad (22%); y la cintura de riesgo elevado (57%) y muy elevado (19%); asociado al perfil glicémico alterado en un 4%, y el perfil lipidico alterado en cerca del 40% del personal (trigicéridos=43%; HDL=18%; LDL=34% y colesterol total=40%). Conclusiones: la salud y estado nutricional del personal militar de la Fuerza Aerea esta siendo afectada por varios aspectos como la actividad física insuficiente, hábitos alimentarios inadecuados. Palabras claves: sindrome metabólico, obesidad, Fuerza Aerea, Bolivi

Caracterización del perfil epidemiológico del síndrome metabólico y factores de riesgo asociados. Cochabamba, Boliv

La evaluación del perfil epidemiológico del Síndrome Metabólico en población general usando la metodología WHO-STEPS de la Organización Mundial de la Salud es incipiente o nula en muchos países Latino Americanos. Objetivo: caracterizar el perfil epidemiológico del Síndrome Metabólico y sus factores de riesgo asociados en población general mayor de 18 años en la ciudad de Cochabamba, Bolivia, durante la gestión II-2016. Métodos: se realizó un estudio observacional, analítico de corte transversal, en población general de 18 o más años, con una muestra de n=186 sujetos ajustados por grupo etario y sexo en base a la pirámide poblacional de Cochabamba-Bolivia. Se aplicó la metodología STEPS (pasos) de la OPS/OMS para la recolección de la información centrada en datos sociodemográficos, hábitos de vida, evaluación física y laboratorial. Se calcularon proporciones e intervalos de confianza al 95% conforme lo establecido en el manual de implementación de la metodología STEP; y regresión logística multivariada para la obtención del OR ajustado para el nivel de riesgo asociados al Síndrome Metabólico.Resultados: la prevalencia global de Síndrome metabólico fue de 44,1%; la prevalencia de sus factores de riesgo asociados fue: STEP-1, Tabaquismo 11,29%; consumo actual de alcohol 63,44%; bajo consumo de frutas y vegetales 76,88%; sedentarismo o bajo nivel de actividad física 75,81%. STEP-2: sobrepeso 44,62%; obesidad 24,73%; obesidad abdominal 38,7% y presión arterial elevada en 35,14%. STEP3: Glicemia alterada en ayunas 36,02%; Insulina basal alterada 36,56%; colesterol total elevado 36,02%; Triglicéridos elevados 46,77% y HDL-colesterol reducido en el 66,67%. Los niveles de OR ajustado fueron >1 y estadísticamente significativas para las medidas físicas y laboratoriales.Conclusión: el síndrome metabólico en altamente prevalente en la población general de la ciudad de Cochabamba y se asocia a niveles elevados de IMC, presión arterial elevada y perfil laboratorial alterado

Estado nutricional y su relación con el coeficiente intelectual de niños en edad escolar

Objetivos: Analizar la relación existente entre el coeficiente intelectual medido mediante el test de Goodenough y el estado nutricional infantil del Municipio de Vinto-Quillacollo, Cochabamba durante la gestión II-2012. Métodos: Se realiza un estudio observacional, cuali-cuantitativa, correlacional, de corte transversal, mediante la evaluación antropométrica de niños en edad escolar, analizados por el software Antrho Plusv 1.0.04 y la evaluación del coeficiente Intelectual mediante el test estandarizado de Goodenough, en 648 niños de 5 a 13 años seleccionados por un muestreo aleatorio por conglomerados. Resultados: Se determinó la prevalencia de desnutrición crónica z-TE<2DE =22,6%; IMC<-2DE=1,2%. La media de edad cronológica fue de 9,015±2,185; y la edad mental fue de 9,013±2,186. La media de CI fue de 100,24±7,10. La covarianza para la correlación entre coeficiente intelectual y estado nutricional fue de COVAR=3,588 con un índice de correlación de R2=0,5941. Conclusiones: La relación entre el estado nutricional y la categoría de coeficiente intelectual es directamente proporcional y estadísticamente significativa.Palabras claves: trastornos de la nutrición, desnutrición crónica, coeficiente Intelectual

Kardiovaskulär sjukdom i Cochabamba, Bolivia : påverkbara riskfaktorer och sociala ojämlikheter

Background: The increase in the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors (CVRFs) is considered one of the most important public health problems worldwide and especially in Latin American (LA) countries. Although the systematic surveillance of chronic diseases and their risk factors has been recommended, Bolivia has not yet implemented a national strategy to collect and monitor CVRF information. Evidence from previous studies in Bolivia and other Latin American countries has suggested that CVRFs affect women more than men and mestizos more than indigenous people. However, a more accurate and comprehensive picture of the CVRF situation and how ethnicity and gender intersect to affect CVRFs is dearly needed to support the development of health policies to improve population health and reduce inequalities. Objective: to estimate the distribution of CVRFs and to examine intersectional in equalities in Cochabamba – Bolivia in order to provide useful information for public health practice and decision making. The specific objectives are: i) to estimate the prevalence of preventable risk factors associated with CVDs and ii) to assess and explain obesity inequalities in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender. Methods: The data collection procedure was based on the Pan-American version (V2.0) of the WHO STEPS approach adapted to the Bolivian context. Between 2015 and 2016, 10,754 individuals aged over 18 years old were surveyed. The two first stages of the STEPS approach were conducted: a) Step 1 consisted of the application of a questionnaire to collect demographic and lifestyle data; b) Step 2 involved taking measurements of height, weight, blood pressure, and waist circumference of the participants. To achieve objective 1, the prevalence of relevant behavioural risk factors and anthropometric measures were calculated, and then odds ratios/prevalence ratios were estimated for each CVRF, both with crude and adjusted regression models. Regarding objective 2, an intersectionality approach based on the method suggested by Jackson et al. (67) was used to analyse the ethnic and gender inequalities in obesity. Gender and ethnicity information were combined to form four mutually exclusive intersectional positions: i) the dually disadvantaged group of indigenous women; ii) the dually advantaged group of mestizo men; and the singly disadvantaged groups of iii) indigenous men and iv) mestizo women. Joint and excess intersectional disparities in abdominal obesity were estimated as absolute prevalence differences between binary groups, using binomial regression models. The Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition was applied to estimate the contributions of explanatory factors underlying the observed intersectional disparities. Main findings: Our findings revealed that Cochabamba had a high prevalence of CVRFs, with significant variations among the different socio-demographic groups. Indigenous populations and those living in the Andean region showed, in general, a lower prevalence for most of the risk factors evaluated. The prevalence of behavioural risk factors were: current smoking (11.6%); current alcohol consumption (42.76%); low consumption of fruits and vegetables (76.73%); and low level of physical activity (64.77%). The prevalence of metabolic risk factors evaluated were: being overweight (35.84%); obesity (20.49%); abdominal obesity (54.13%); and raised blood pressure (17.5%). It is important to highlight that 40.7% of participants had four or more CVRFs simultaneously. Dually and singly disadvantaged groups (indigenous women, indigenous men, and mestizo women) were less obese than the dually advantaged group (mestizomen). The joint disparity showed that the obesity prevalence was 7.26 percentage points higher in the doubly advantaged mestizo men (MM) than in the doubly disadvantaged indigenous women (IW). Mestizo men (MM) had an obesity prevalence of 4.30 percentage points higher than mestizo women (MW) and 9.18 percentage points higher than indigenous men (IM). The resulting excess intersectional disparity was 6.22 percentage points, representing -86 percentage points of the joint disparity. The lower prevalence of obesity in the doubly disadvantaged group of indigenous women (7.26 percentage points) was mainly due to ethnic differences alone. However, they had higher obesity than expected when considering both genders alone and ethnicity alone. Health behaviours were important factors in explaining the intersectional inequalities, while differences in socioeconomic and demographic factors played less important roles. Conclusion: The prevalence of all CVRFs in Cochabamba was high, and nearly two-thirds of the population reported two or more risk factors simultaneously. The intersectional disparities illustrate that abdominal obesity is not distributed according to expected patterns of structural disadvantages in the intersectional spaces of ethnicity and gender in Bolivia. A high social advantage was related to higher rates of abdominal obesity, with health behaviours as the most important factors explaining the observed inequalities. The information generated by this study provides evidence for health policymakers at the regional level and a baseline data for department-wide action plans to carry out specific interventionsin the population and on individual levels