Incidence of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis in Chile.

Objective: This study aimed to estimate amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) incidence and survival rates in the Metropolitan region of Chile.

Methods: We conducted a cohort study of ALS cases in the Metropolitan Region from 2016 to 2019. A total of 219 ALS patients were recruited from Corporación ELA-Chile registry, in collaboration with neurologists from Sociedad de Neurología, Psiquiatría y Neurocirugía de Chile.

Assessing subjective cognitive decline in older adults attending primary health care centers: what question should be asked?

Introduction: Subjective Cognitive Decline (SCD) refers to a self-perceived experience of decreased cognitive function without objective signs of cognitive impairment in neuropsychological tests or daily living activities. Despite the abundance of instruments addressing SCD, there is no consensus on the methods to be used. Our study is founded on 11 questions selected due to their recurrence in most instruments.

The "when" matters: Evidence from memory markers in the clinical continuum of Alzheimer's disease.

Objective: Cognitive assessment able to detect impairments in the early neuropathological stages of Alzheimer's disease (AD) is urgently needed. The visual short-term memory binding task (VSTMBT) and the Free and Cued Selective Reminding Test (FCSRT) have been recommended by the neurodegenerative disease working group as promising tests to aid in the early detection of AD. In this study, we investigated their complementary value across the clinical stages of the AD continuum.

Loss of Health State Utilities Attributable to Obesity.

Objectives: This study aimed to quantify the association between the loss of health state utilities (LHSU) and obesity, considering different obesity categories. This is relevant to interventions economic evaluations and for public policy decision planning.

Methods: Using data from the Chilean National Health Survey, this study uses linear regression models and counterfactual scenarios to calculate the prevalent burden, population averages, and total sum of LHSU attributable to obesity for the Chilean national level on people older than 15 years, year 2017.

Cost analysis of chronic pain due to musculoskeletal disorders in Chile.

The magnitude of the cost of chronic pain has been a matter of concern in many countries worldwide. The high prevalence, the cost it implies for the health system, productivity, and absenteeism need to be addressed urgently. Studies have begun describing this problem in Chile, but there is still a debt in highlighting its importance and urgency on contributing to chronic pain financial coverage.

Population attributable fraction of modifiable risk factors for dementia in Chile.

Introduction: Projected dementia incidence in Latin America and the Caribbean for the next decades is overwhelming. Access to local data, stratified by sex, is imperative for planning precise dementia-prevention strategies.

Methods: We analyzed the individual and overall weighted population attributable fraction (PAF) of nine modifiable risk factors for dementia, in dementia-free subjects ≥45-years-old, using the 2016-2017 Chilean National Health Survey.

Changes in cardiovascular mortality in Chile during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Objectives: The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted regular cardiovascular healthcare access and delivery. Service utilisation has declined, and excess cardiovascular mortality has been reported in several countries. We aim to estimate excess cardiovascular deaths in Chile during 2020.

Antiretroviral therapy use in selected countries in Latin America during 2013-2017: results from the Latin American Workshop in HIV Study Group.

Objective: To document antiretroviral use in Latin America during the last decade.

Methods: We collected indicators from 79 HIV health care centres in 14 Latin American Spanish-speaking countries for 2013-2017. Indicators were analysed by age, sex and other characteristics and weighted by the estimated people under care (PUC) population in each country.

Effectiveness of a Gamification Strategy to Prevent Childhood Obesity in Schools: A Cluster Controlled Trial.

Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effectiveness of a school-based gamification strategy to prevent childhood obesity.

Methods: Schools were randomized in Santiago, Chile, between March and May 2018 to control or to receive a nutrition and physical activity intervention using a gamification strategy (i.e.

Psychometric Evaluation of the Health State Description Questionnaire in Chile: A Proposal for a Latent Variable Approach for Valuating Health States.

Background: A few instruments that identify and valuate health states are based on the International Classification of Functioning, Disability and Health States of the World Health Organization. One of them is the Health State Description (HSD) questionnaire first used in the World Health Survey (WHS) initiative (HSD-WHS), whose psychometric properties have not been evaluated in Chile. Additionally, the use of latent variables for the valuation process of health states has been scarcely investigated in the context of population health metrics.

Prevalence, burden of disease, and lost in health state utilities attributable to chronic musculoskeletal disorders and pain in Chile.

Background: Musculoskeletal disorders are a leading cause of disability adjusted life years (DALY) in the world. We aim to describe the prevalence and to compare the DALYs and loss of health state utilities (LHSU) attributable to common musculoskeletal disorders in Chile.

Methods: We used data from the Chilean National Health Survey carried out in 2016-2017.

Different Alternatives to Assess the Burden of Disease Using Attributable Fraction on a Disability Variable: The Case of Pain and Chronic Musculoskeletal Disorders in Chile.

Objectives: To estimate the burden of disease through 4 complementary procedures to years lived with disability (YLDs) using the concept of attributable fraction and including analysis of subdomains of disability.

Methods: We explored the burden on disability for 7 common musculoskeletal disorders (CMD) using the 2009 to 2010 Chilean National Health Survey, which included the Community Oriented Programme for the Control of Rheumatic Disease Core Questionnaire to identify cases with CMD, and an 8-domain questionnaire for health state descriptions. We calculated the proportion of disability attributable to pain in the general population and people with CMD.

Chronic Musculoskeletal Pain and Chronic Widespread Pain in Chile: Prevalence Study Performed as Part of the National Health Survey.

Objectives: Chronic musculoskeletal pain (CMP) causes significant health loss worldwide. Given that cultural factors may affect pain processing, it is key to have more information regarding CMP epidemiology in Latin America. In this study, we aimed to determine the prevalence of CMP and chronic widespread pain (CWP) in Chile.

GERO Cohort Protocol, Chile, 2017-2022: Community-based Cohort of Functional Decline in Subjective Cognitive Complaint elderly.

Background: With the global population aging and life expectancy increasing, dementia has turned a priority in the health care system. In Chile, dementia is one of the most important causes of disability in the elderly and the most rapidly growing cause of death in the last 20 years. Cognitive complaint is considered a predictor for cognitive and functional decline, incident mild cognitive impairment, and incident dementia.

Computer-Assisted Cognitive-Behavioral Therapy to Treat Adolescents With Depression in Primary Health Care Centers in Santiago, Chile: A Randomized Controlled Trial.

Evidence from developed countries shows the efficacy of computer-assisted cognitive-behavioral therapy (cCBT) in addressing adolescent depression in home and/or school settings. This paper presents the results of a randomized controlled trial (RCT) of a brief therapist-guided cCBT intervention for adolescent depression in resource-constrained primary health care (PHC) settings. A multicenter, two-arm parallel-group, individually RCT with a 1:1 allocation ratio assigned 216 depressed adolescents (aged 15-19) attending four PHC centers in a low-income municipality of Santiago, Chile, to receive eight weekly face-to-face therapist-guided cCBT sessions by study therapists (N = 108), or to receive an enhanced usual care (EUC) intervention by trained PHC psychologists, encouraged to adhere to the national clinical guidelines for the management of depression (N = 108).

Primary care consultation liaison and the rate of psychiatric hospitalizations: a countrywide study in Chile.

Objectives: To assess the quality of consultation liaison across all primary health care centers in Chile, and its potential relationship with the psychiatric hospitalization rate.

Methods: We carried out a countrywide ecological cross-sectional study on 502 primary health centers in 275 municipalities (87.3% of total primary health centers in Chile) during 2009.

Costs and consequences of chronic pain due to musculoskeletal disorders from a health system perspective in Chile.

Background: Chronic pain is a prevalent and distressing condition caused by an unceasing pain lasting more than 3 months or a pain that persists beyond the normal healing time. There is evidence of inadequate management partly explained by the unawareness regarding the magnitude of the problem.

Objectives: To estimate the annual expected costs and consequences of chronic pain caused by musculoskeletal diseases from the health system perspective in Chile.

Aging and Health Policies in Chile: New Agendas for Research.

Abstract-Population aging is among the most important global transformations. Compared to European and North American countries, Chile is among the countries with the fastest growth of life expectancy at birth during recent decades. The aging of Chile's population is related to the improvement of living conditions, but also entails risks that tend to be associated with a rapid economic growth accompanied by large income inequalities and a chronic deficit of basic social benefits.

[Screening depressive episodes in adolescents. Validation of the Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9)].

Background: There is a paucity of validated instruments for screening depression in adolescent populations in Chile.

Aim: To determine the diagnostic accuracy of the adolescent version of Patient Health Questionnaire-9 (PHQ-9).

Material And Methods: The PHQ-9 was transculturally adapted and administered to adolescents aged 15 to 19 years residing in Santiago de Chile, who were then evaluated with a semi structured interview (Kiddie-Schedule for Affective Disorders and Schizophrenia-Present and Lifetime Version or K-SADS-PL) and the Beck Depression Inventory.

The Impact of Universal Health Care Programmes on Improving 'Realized Access' to Care for Depression in Chile.

Universal health care programmes have the potential to reduce treatment gaps. We explored the potential impact of an equity-oriented universal health care programme on access to care for depression, hypertension and diabetes using data from two nationally representative health surveys in Chile. The likelihood a depressed individual had accessed health care appears to have increased significantly after the programme was introduced whereas those for hypertension and diabetes remained unchanged.

Determinants of access to health care for depression in 49 countries: A multilevel analysis.

Background: The relative importance of individual and country-level factors influencing access to diagnosis and treatment for depression across the world is fairly unknown.

Methods: We analysed cross-national data from the WHO World Health Surveys. Depression diagnosis and access to health care were ascertained using a structured interview.

Remote Collaborative Depression Care Program for Adolescents in Araucanía Region, Chile: Randomized Controlled Trial.

Background: Despite evidence on efficacious interventions, a great proportion of depressed adolescents do not receive evidence-based treatment and have no access to specialized mental health care. Remote collaborative depression care (RCDC) may help to reduce the gap between needs and specialized mental health services.

Objective: The objective of this study was to assess the feasibility, acceptability, and effectiveness of an RCDC intervention for adolescents with major depressive disorder (MDD) living in the Araucanía Region, Chile.

Priority setting for mental health research in Chile.

Background: Scientific knowledge is a fundamental tool for making informed health policy decisions, but the link between health research and public policy decision-making is often missing. This study aims to identify and prioritize a national set of research gaps in mental health.

Methods: A multi-approach method to identify gaps in knowledge was developed, including (1) document analysis and identification of possible research questions, (2) interviews to Ministry of Health key informants, (3) focus groups with different stakeholders, and (4) a web consultation addressed to academics.

Implementing a Community Model of Mental Health Care in Chile: Impact on Psychiatric Emergency Visits.

Objective: The community model of mental health care (CMMHC) is recommended as the best way to organize mental health care, but evidence of its successful implementation and effectiveness is scarce, particularly in resource-poor settings. This study aimed to evaluate the impact of CMMHC on the rate of psychiatric emergency visits in Santiago, Chile.

Methods: The rate of psychiatric emergency visits from 2006 to 2011 was compared between two health care administrative districts: district 1 (D1), in which CMMHC was being systematically implemented, and D2, where CMMHC implementation was very limited and inconsistent.

[Evolution of epidemiological and clinical characteristics of adults patients belonging to the national program at start of antiretroviral therapy in the Chilean AIDS Cohort, 2001-2015].

Background: Chilean AIDS Cohort is the oldest and extensive in Latin America and one of most numerous and with longer follow up time to international level. Records information from 14,873 patients out of approximately 22,000 in antiretroviral therapy in the public system and its results have allowed to know the national reality and have contributed to the adoption of public policies.

Aim: To describe the demographic, clinical and immunological characteristics of patients who have started ART in Chile and its evolution over the past 15 years.