[Child labor and health in a public market, Valencia, Venezuela].

Objectives: This study was aimed at determining the living conditions, work practices, health effects and associated occupational risk factors in children working in a public market in Valencia, Venezuela.

Methodology: A questionnaire was administered which included demographic and exposure variables; a descriptive analysis was then made of the data. Forty-four children were selected.

A preliminary statistical study of whether pesticide use could be related to birth defects in a rural area of Venezuela.

Objectives: This study was carried out in response to health authorities' concerns regarding what they considered to be a "high proportion" of birth defects (BD) in a rural Venezuelan state as the preliminary step towards subsequent health assessment regarding exposure to pesticides and possible association with registered BD.

Methods: This was a cross-sectional descriptive study. Generalised linear modelling (GLM) was used for relating BD with county of origin and the date of the events.

Mercury in hair as a biomarker of exposure in a coastal Venezuelan population.

To assess mercury exposure and potential risk, total mercury (THg-H) and methylmercury (MeHg-H) in hair were studied in 160 adults. The study group consisted of 60 individuals living in the north central coast of Venezuela. A section of the area was known to be contaminated with mercury from a chlor-alkali plant installed near one of the tributary rivers of the Caribbean Sea.

[Usefulness of the geographic information system (GIS) in the identification of contributing factors to lead blood concentrations in a population of Venezuelan children].

Objective: To identify environmental factors that contribute to blood lead levels (BPb) in children living in an urban area in Valencia, Venezuela, using a Geographical Information System (GIS) as an association tool.

Material And Methods: An analytical-ecological study was carried out.

Population: 60 children.

Biological monitoring of mercury exposure in individuals referred to a toxicological center in Venezuela.

People in developing countries are often considered at greater risk of mercury (Hg) poisoning due to a variety of factors including a lack of awareness regarding their occupational risks. Individuals requiring urine mercury (U-Hg) analysis at the Center for Toxicological Investigations of the University of Carabobo (CITUC), between 1998 and 2002 were studied to identify demographic characteristics associated to U-Hg levels. The studied population included individuals with a history of exposure (or related exposures) to Hg processes, and was comprised of 1159 individuals (65 children, 1094 adults) ages 0.

[Association between blood lead and sociodemographic parameters among children].

Objective: To determine the relationship between blood lead concentration (Pb-S), and sociodemographic parameters among children.

Methods: Blood lead concentration (Pb-S) was determined in 243 children (aged 5.94 +/- 2.

Treating depression in primary care in low-income women in Santiago, Chile: a randomised controlled trial.

Background: Depression in women is one of the commonest problems encountered in primary care. We aimed to compare the effectiveness of a stepped-care programme with usual care in primary-care management of depression in low-income women in Santiago, Chile.

Methods: In a randomised controlled trial, in three primary-care clinics in Chile, 240 adult female primary-care patients with major depression were allocated stepped care or usual care.

Attitudes and values of Peruvian coca growers.

This study uses semi-structured interviews to examine the attitudes and values of Peruvian coca growers toward coca leaf and cocaine basic paste (CBP) consumption and its distribution. The subjects of the study were 186 coca growers from Peruvian jungle valleys who are involved in illegal commercialization of coca leaf and cocaine paste production. Data collected in 1994 reveal that growers consider coca leaf to be a most profitable product and a unique opportunity to improve their quality of life.