[The role of the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health on the coverage of patients with cataract]. / El papel del Fondo de Protección contra Gastos Catastróficos en la cobertura de atención a pacientes con cataratas.

OBJECTIVE: To describe the effect of the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health on the provision of services for patients with cataract. MATERIALS AND METHODS: We used administrative dataset on hospital discharges and official figures on population to estimate the rate of care and the coverage for cataract. To estimate the variation on resources, we used data from the National System of Health Information. RESULTS: Coverage for this disease had a significant increase between 2000 and 2010, passing from 24 per thousand cataract patients receiving attention to 58.8 per thousand. This growth is mainly due to the incorporation of cataract to the catalog of diseases covered by the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health, although this variation is not based on additional resources but in a higher productivity. The growth of services is noticeable in Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Distrito Federal and Nayarit. CONCLUSIONS: Our results suggest that policy-making based on evidence have actually brought benefits for Mexican population.

El papel del Fondo de Protección contra Gastos Catastróficos en la cobertura de atención a pacientes con cataratas / The role of the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health on the coverage of patients with cataract

Objetivo. Documentar el efecto que el Fondo de Protección contra Gastos Catastróficos (FPGC) ha tenido sobre la cobertura de servicios y la disponibilidad de recursos para la atención de cataratas. Material y métodos. Con datos 2000-2010 del Sistema Automatizado de Egresos Hospitalarios y las estimaciones de población del Consejo Nacional de Población, se calcularon la tasa anual y la cobertura de atención de cataratas. Los datos de recursos proceden del Sistema Nacional de Información en Salud. Resultados. La cobertura de atención creció de 24 pacientes atendidos por 1 000 pacientes con cataratas en 2000 a 58.8 en 2012. El mayor aumento ocurrió entre 2006 y 2007 como consecuencia de la incorporación de la atención de cataratas al FPGC. Este aumento se sustenta más en la productividad por oftalmólogo que en un incremento de los recursos. Sobresalen los incrementos en la tasa de egresos observados en Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Distrito Federal y Nayarit. Conclusiones. Los resultados aquí presentados muestran beneficios sobre la salud poblacional derivados de decisiones político-organizacionales basadas en evidencias.

Objective. To describe the effect of the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health on the provision of services for patients with cataract. Materials and methods. We used administrative dataset on hospital discharges and official figures on population to estimate the rate of care and the coverage for cataract. To estimate the variation on resources, we used data from the National System of Health Information. Results. Coverage for this disease had a significant increase between 2000 and 2010, passing from 24 per thousand cataract patients receiving attention to 58.8 per thousand. This growth is mainly due to the incorporation of cataract to the catalog of diseases covered by the Fund against Catastrophic Expenditures in Health, although this variation is not based on additional resources but in a higher productivity. The growth of services is noticeable in Aguascalientes, Coahuila, Distrito Federal and Nayarit. Conclusions. Our results suggest that policy-making based on evidence have actually brought benefits for Mexican population.

Total and high molecular weight adiponectin have similar utility for the identification of insulin resistance.

BACKGROUND: Insulin resistance (IR) and related metabolic disturbances are characterized by low levels of adiponectin. High molecular weight adiponectin (HMWA) is considered the active form of adiponectin and a better marker of IR than total adiponectin. The objective of this study is to compare the utility of total adiponectin, HMWA and the HMWA/total adiponectin index (SA index) for the identification of IR and related metabolic conditions. METHODS: A cross-sectional analysis was performed in a group of ambulatory subjects, aged 20 to 70 years, in Mexico City. Areas under the receiver operator characteristic (ROC) curve for total, HMWA and the SA index were plotted for the identification of metabolic disturbances. Sensitivity and specificity, positive and negative predictive values, and accuracy for the identification of IR were calculated. RESULTS: The study included 101 men and 168 women. The areas under the ROC curve for total and HMWA for the identification of IR (0.664 vs. 0.669, P = 0.74), obesity (0.592 vs. 0.610, P = 0.32), hypertriglyceridemia (0.661 vs. 0.671, P = 0.50) and hypoalphalipoproteinemia (0.624 vs. 0.633, P = 0.58) were similar. A total adiponectin level of 8.03 mug/ml was associated with a sensitivity of 57.6%, a specificity of 65.9%, a positive predictive value of 50.0%, a negative predictive value of 72.4%, and an accuracy of 62.7% for the diagnosis of IR. The corresponding figures for a HMWA value of 4.25 mug/dl were 59.6%, 67.1%, 51.8%, 73.7% and 64.2%.The area under the ROC curve of the SA index for the identification of IR was 0.622 [95% CI 0.554-0.691], obesity 0.613 [95% CI 0.536-0.689], hypertriglyceridemia 0.616 [95% CI 0.549-0.683], and hypoalphalipoproteinemia 0.606 [95% CI 0.535-0.677]. CONCLUSIONS: Total adiponectin, HMWA and the SA index had similar utility for the identification of IR and metabolic disturbances.

Daily physical activity, fasting glucose, uric acid, and body mass index are independent factors associated with serum fibroblast growth factor 21 levels.

OBJECTIVE: Fibroblast growth factor 21 (FGF21) levels have been linked with beneficial effects on glucose and lipid metabolism in animals. It is elevated in humans with the metabolic syndrome. This study investigates independent factors associated with serum FGF21 levels. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study done in healthy blue-collar workers. METHODS: A medical history was taken, and FGF21 (measured using an ELISA commercial kit), glucose, uric acid, plasma lipids, total/high-molecular weight (HMW) adiponectin, and retinal-binding protein 4 (RBP4) were measured in 210 individuals with (n=81) and without (n=129) metabolic syndrome. RESULTS: The median of serum FGF21 levels were higher in subjects with metabolic syndrome (339.5 vs 276.4 ng/l, P=0.01). Serum FGF21 levels correlated positively with body mass index (BMI; r=0.23, P=0.001) and age (r=0.17, P=0.01). After adjusting for age and BMI, a significant positive correlation persisted for fasting glucose, uric acid, and physical activity in both males (r=0.21, r=0.11, and r=0.19, all P<0.05) and females (r=0.20, r=0.19, and r=0.14, all P<0.05). In addition, FGF21 also correlates negatively with RBP4 (r=-0.27, P=0.02), total (r=-0.26, P=0.03), and HMW adiponectin (r=-0.30, P=0.01) in women. A multiple linear regression model analysis identified that BMI (standardized beta (SB)=0.247; P=0.008), glucose (SB=0.226; P=0.003), uric acid (SB=0.191; P=0.04), and physical activity (SB=0.223; P=0.004) are independent factors influencing serum FGF21 levels (F=10.05, r(2)=0.19, P<0.001). In addition, fasting hyperglycemia > or =100 mg/dl, excess body weight with BMI > or =25 kg/m(2), and uric acid > or =5.5 mg/dl predicted higher serum FGF21 levels. CONCLUSION: Serum FGF21 levels are influenced by BMI, fasting glycemia, uric acid, and physical activity.