Patterns of Physical Activity and Associated Factors in Cubans Aged 15-69 Years.

INTRODUCTION Systematic measurement of population physical activity levels is an important component of public health surveillance. OBJECTIVES Describe patterns of physical activity in the Cuban population aged 15-69 years and identify factors associated with regular physical activity. METHODS A descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted using a complex sampling design, representative of urban and rural areas, sex and age groups, including 7915 individuals.

Height, zinc and soil-transmitted helminth infections in schoolchildren: a study in Cuba and Cambodia.

Soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections and zinc deficiency are often found in low- and middle-income countries and are both known to affect child growth. However, studies combining data on zinc and STH are lacking. In two studies in schoolchildren in Cuba and Cambodia, we collected data on height, STH infection and zinc concentration in either plasma (Cambodia) or hair (Cuba).

Impact of periodic selective mebendazole treatment on soil-transmitted helminth infections in Cuban schoolchildren.

Objective: To evaluate the impact of periodic selective treatment with 500 mg mebendazole on soil-transmitted helminth (STH) infections in Cuban schoolchildren.

Methods: We followed up a cohort of 268 STH-positive schoolchildren, aged 5-14 years at baseline, at six-month intervals for two years and a final follow-up after three years. Kato-Katz stool examination was used to detect infections with Ascaris lumbricoides, Trichuris trichiura and hookworm.

Childhood atopic diseases and early life circumstances: an ecological study in Cuba.

Background: Children are especially vulnerable during periods of resource shortage such as economic embargoes. They are likely to suffer most from poor nutrition, infectious diseases, and other ensuing short-term threats. Moreover, early life circumstances can have important consequences for long-term health.

Associations between atopic markers in asthma and intestinal helminth infections in Cuban schoolchildren.

Total serum IgE (tIgE), allergen-specific IgE (sIgE), and skin prick test (SPT) are commonly used markers for atopy and atopic disease. The association between these measures and their relationship to clinical symptoms differs in affluent and non-affluent countries. We investigated the role of intestinal helminth infections in observed variations in atopic markers and asthma, and possible diagnostic and epidemiological consequences.

Association of atopy, asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and intestinal helminth infections in Cuban children.

Objective: To examine the relationship of past and current intestinal helminth infections with asthma, allergic rhinoconjunctivitis, atopic dermatitis and atopy.

Methods: Cross-sectional study of 1320 children aged 4-14 years from two Cuban municipalities. Helminth infections were determined by stool examination and parental questionnaire.

[The direct costs of home care in Cuba].

Objective: To analyze home care services in Cuba and determine how length of stay, per-day cost, and per-patient cost vary by diagnosis and by the area of the country in which the services are rendered.

Methods: Patient information was analyzed for 837 individuals who were enrolled in home care services between July 2001 and June 2002 in the following four municipalities: (1) Playa municipality (a metropolitan urban area) in the province of the City of Havana; Cruces municipality (an urban, but not metropolitan, area) in the province of Cienfuegos; Unión de Reyes municipality (a rural area) in the province of Matanzas; and Fomento municipality (a mountainous rural area) in the province of Sancti Spiritus Analysis of the mean length of stay for home care services was conducted using the Kaplan-Meier survival curve method. The impact of the following criteria on the probability and timing of discharge was also assessed: diagnosis at time of enrollment (respiratory, gastrointestinal, obstetrical/gynecological, hospital discharge follow-up, and other causes), area in which services were rendered, and patient gender and age.

Prevalence and risk factors of intestinal parasites in Cuban children.

Objectives: To determine the prevalence of intestinal parasite infections and their risk factors in children in urban and rural settings in two Cuban municipalities.

Methods: A total of 1320 Cuban schoolchildren aged 4-14 were tested by stool examination for intestinal parasite infections and evaluated by parental questionnaire for a number of common environmental, sanitary, socioeconomic and behavioural risk factors. Multivariate regression was applied to examine the relationship between the respective parasite infections and the risk factors.

[Estimate methods used with complex sampling designs: their application in the Cuban 2001 health survey].

Objectives: To look at the individual features of three different methods used to estimate simple parameters--means, totals, and percentages, as well as their standard errors--and of logistic regression models, and to describe how such methods can be used for analyzing data obtained from complex samples.

Methods: Data from Cuba's Second National Survey of Risk Factors and Non-Communicable Chronic Ailments [Segunda Encuesta Nacional de Factores de Riesgo y Afecciones Crónicas No Transmisibles], which was conducted in 2001, were studied. A complex, stratified multi-stage cluster sampling design was used.