Publications by authors named "Mar Blasco-Blasco"
In May 2022, the first monkeypox transmission chains were detected outside endemic countries. This outbreak presents clinical and epidemiological characteristics different from those observed in previous outbreaks, with a greater impact among the group of men who have sex with other men. The approach of epidemic outbreaks that requires interventions on communities or populations at risk of stigmatization is a major public health challenge.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To determine whether the Bath Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Index (BASDAI) and the Ankylosing Spondylitis Disease Activity Score (ASDAS) exhibited differences between women and men.
Methods: We systematically searched MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and other sources in English or Spanish from January 1, 1995, to July 31, 2020, to assess the differences according to sex in BASDAI and ASDAS. We performed a comparative analysis by sex using test and mean difference by sex metaanalyses for BASDAI and ASDAS, as well as a random-effects model using the inverse-variance method.
Article Synopsis
- The study explores the challenges and supports in managing type 2 diabetes in Latin America and the Caribbean, where the disease rates are rising despite evidence-based recommendations being primarily created for wealthier regions.
- The researchers reviewed 60 studies, emphasizing that most barriers relate to healthcare access, social influences, and the attitudes of healthcare providers, which affect patients' ability to manage their diabetes.
- The findings suggest that effective diabetes management in this region requires addressing broader public policy issues and improving healthcare access and support systems rather than focusing solely on individual patient behavior.
There are relevant dimensions from a gender perspective related to therapeutic effort. To illustrate and discuss possible gender bias related to medicines, through the consumption analysis in women, the prescription of biological drugs according to sex, the potential gender inequality in adverse drug reactions, and research with clinical trials, as well as the decisions of international institutions in the marketing of medicinal products. There is greater tendency to prescribe pain relievers, regardless of pain, and drugs for low intensity depressive symptoms in women than in men.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFChallenges remain for policy adoption and implementation to tackle the unprecedented and relentless increase in obesity, diabetes and other non-communicable diseases (NCDs), especially in low- and middle-income countries. The aim of this mixed-methods study is to analyse the contextual relevance and applicability to low-resource settings of a sample of evidence-based healthy public policies, using local knowledge, perceptions and pertinent epidemiological data. Firstly, we will identify and prioritise policies that have the potential to reduce the burden of diabetes in low-resource settings with a scoping review and modified Delphi method.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFObjective: To illustrate some gender challenges and contributions which are more frequent in research and health care through a chronic disease such as spondyloarthritis.
Method: Using two of the main identified gender biases in research and health care (de-contextualization of diseases, especially in women, and problem definition and knowledge production in women's health), a cross-sectional study was used with 96 men and 54 women with spondyloarthritis of the Rheumatology Department of the Alicante University General Hospital, whose sources of information were semi-structured patient interviews and clinical records.
Results: We show how the gender perspective can contribute to contextualise the differences by sex of functional alterations and other social and health indicators, and highlight inequalities in the socioeconomic repercussions between patients of both sexes.
Background: Diagnostic delay is well-known in spondyloarthritis and studies have demonstrated a longer deferral in women. The aim of this study was to explore whether diagnostic delay of spondyloarthritis depends on clinical manifestations expressed by patients according to sex or whether it is related to a doctor's misdiagnosis bias.
Methods: A cross-sectional study of 96 men and 54 women with spondyloarthritis was performed at Alicante University General Hospital in Spain using a semistructured interview and clinical records.
Objective: To illustrate the experiences and contextual support perceived by men and women with spondyloarthritis (SpA) in relation to their demanding productive and reproductive roles.
Methods: A quantitative-qualitative study of 96 men and 54 women with SpA was conducted at the Alicante University General Hospital, in a Spanish Mediterranean city, from March 2013 to February 2014. Descriptive and qualitative content analyses compared working lives and family/partner relationships of male and female patients.
Objective: To identify empirical evidence of diagnostic delay in spondyloarthritis (SpA), determine whether sex-related differences persist, and conduct an analysis from that perspective of the possible causes, including the influence of quality research, in this group of inflammatory rheumatic diseases.
Methods: A systematic review was done of delay in diagnosis of SpA in MEDLINE and EMBASE and other sources. Study quality was determined in line with the Strengthening The Reporting of OBservational studies in Epidemiology (STROBE) statement.