Evaluación de la consistencia interna y dimensionalidad de la Escala de Capital Social Cognitivo en adultos colombianos

Introducción: durante las últimas dos décadas, el concepto de capital social se ha utilizado con creciente frecuencia en las ciencias de la salud debido a las relaciones directas e indirectas entre el capital social y la salud física y mental de las poblaciones. Por tanto, es necesario construir un instrumento para cuantificar este concepto con seguridad y confiabilidad. Objetivo: analizar la consistencia interna y dimensionalidad de una escala de siete ítems para medir el capital social en adultos de la población general de Colombia. Metodología: se realizó un estudio de validación en línea, que incluyó una muestra de 700 adultos de entre 18 y 76 años, el 68 % eran mujeres. Los participantes completaron una escala de siete ítems llamada Escala de Capital Social Cognitivo (ECSC). El alfa de Cronbach y el omega de McDonald se calcularon para probar la consistencia interna. Se realizaron análisis factoriales exploratorios y confirmatorios para explorar la dimensionalidad de la ECSC. Resultados: la ECSC presentó una consistencia interna baja (alfa de Cronbach de 0,56 y omega de McDonald de 0,59) y pobre dimensionalidad. Seguidamente, se probó una versión de cinco ítems (ECSC-5). La ECSC-5 mostró una alta consistencia interna (alfa de Cronbach de 0,79 y omega de McDonald de 0,80) y una estructura unidimensional con indicadores de bondad de ajuste aceptables. Discusión: la ECSC-5 presenta alta consistencia interna y una estructura unidimensional para medir el capital cognitivo social en adultos colombianos. Se recomienda la ECSC-5 para la medición del capital social en la población general colombiana. Futuras investigaciones deben corroborar estos hallazgos en aplicaciones de lápiz y papel y explorar otros indicadores de confiabilidad y validez.

Introduction: During the last two decades, the concept of social capital has been used increasingly frequently in health sciences due to the direct and indirect relationships between social capital and populations' physical and mental health. Therefore, it is necessary to build an instrument to quantify this concept confidently and reliably. Objective: The study aimed to internal consistency and dimensionality of a seven-item scale to measure social capital in Colombia's general population of adults. Methods: An online validation study included a sample of 700 adults aged between 18 and 76 years; 68% were females. Participants completed a seven-item scale called the Cognitive Social Capital Scale (CSCS). Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega were computed to test internal consistency. The authors explore the internal consistency and dimensionality of the CSCS. Results: The CSCS presented a low internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.56 and McDonald's omega of 0.59) and poor dimensionality. Then, the researchers tested a five-item version (CSCS-5). The CSCS-5 showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of 0.79 and McDonald's omega of 0.80) and a one-dimension structure with acceptable goodness-of-fit indicators. Discussion: The CSCS-5 presents high internal consistency and a one-dimensional structure to measure cognitive capital social in the Colombian sample. Authors can recommend measuring social capital in the general Colombian population. Further research should corroborate this pencil and paper application findings and explore other reliability and validity indicators.

Prevalence of genetic mutations in alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (aatd) in patients with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease in Colombia.

BACKGROUND: Alpha-1 antitrypsin deficiency (AATD) is an underrecognized genetic disorder associated mainly with pulmonary emphysema and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD). All individuals with COPD regardless of age or ethnicity should be tested for AATD, but in Colombia its prevalence in unknown. MAIN OBJECTIVE: To determine the prevalence of the genetic mutations, present in AATD in adult patients with COPD in Colombia, using a genotyping test on cells from the oral mucosa. METHODS: This was a multicentre, observational, cross-sectional study which included adult patients attending seven COPD care centres in Colombia. Demographic data, medical history, including history of exposure to smoking and biomass smoke, most recent spirometry, pharmacological and non-pharmacological treatment received, serum AAT levels, and mutations detected by the genotyping test were recorded for all the recruited patients. For the comparison of variables between the groups with and without mutation, we used the X2 test for the qualitative variables and the Student's t-test or Mann-Whitney U test according to their distribution. MAIN FINDINGS: We collected a sample of 1,107 patients, the median age was 73.8 years (87.6-79.9). Mutations were documented in 144 patients (13.01%), the majority had the M/S mutation (78.50%), followed by M/Z (9.72%). One patient had a ZZ mutation and two patients had null alleles. In total, 23 patients had mutations associated with serum AAT deficiency (levels below 60 mg/dl). CONCLUSIONS: Genetic mutations were documented in 13.01% of patients with COPD in Colombia and 2.07% were AATD-related, showing that there is a significant number of underdiagnosed patients.

SPANISH VERSION OF THE ATTITUDE TOWARDS COVID-19 VACCINES SCALE: RELIABILITY AND VALIDITY ASSESSMENT.

Background and Purpose: The negative attitude towards vaccines for coronavirus disease (COVID-19) has motivated the adaptation of instruments for this specific purpose. However, details of the reliability and validity of these scales are unknown. The study aimed to evaluate some indicators of the reliability and validity of the Spanish version of the Attitude towards COVID-19 Vaccines Scale. Methods: A validation study was carried out with 1,136 students of emerging age (18 and 29 years) from a Colombian university; 65.5% were female. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega were calculated for reliability, and exploratory and confirmatory factor analyzes for validity. Additionally, the gender differential item functioning (DIF) was estimated with Kendall's tau b. Results: The Spanish version of Attitude towards COVID-19 Vaccines Scale showed high internal consistency (Cronbach's alpha of .94 and McDonald's omega of .95), a one-dimensional structure with acceptable goodness-of-fit indicators (CFI = .94, TLI = .91, and SRMR = .04), and non-gender DIF (Kendall's tau b between .02 and .06). Conclusions: The Spanish version of the Attitude towards COVID-19 Vaccines Scale presents some appropriate reliability and validity indicators among university emerging adults. These findings should be explored in samples with other characteristics.

Depression among COVID-19 survivors in Colombia.

The COVID-19 survivors are at high risk of meeting the criteria for depression. However, few studies have explored its prevalence and associated factors. The study aimed to know the frequency and variables associated with depression among COVID-19 survivors in Santa Marta, Colombia. A sample of COVID-19 survivors was included. Depression was quantified with the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9, α = 0.85). Three hundred and thirty survivors participated in the research. They were aged between 18 and 89 years, 61.5% were women, and 49.7% of participants scored above the cut-off point for depression. Depression was associated with female gender, younger age, COVID moderate or severe, and having presented symptoms for more than three weeks. In conclusion, depression occurs in half of the COVID-19 survivors and is higher in younger, women and who report more severe symptoms. Longitudinal studies can provide further information on the long-term impact on the mental health of COVID-19 survivors.

A Cross-Sectional Study on Prescription Patterns of Short-Acting ß2-Agonists in Patients with Asthma: Results from the SABINA III Colombia Cohort.

Purpose: Overuse of short-acting ß2-agonists (SABAs) for asthma is associated with a significant increase in exacerbations and healthcare resource use. However, limited data exist on the extent of SABA overuse outside of Europe and North America. As part of the multi-country SABA use IN Asthma (SABINA) III study, we characterized SABA prescription patterns in Colombia. Patients and Methods: This observational, cross-sectional cohort study of SABINA III included patients (aged ≥12 years) with asthma recruited from seven sites in Colombia. Demographics, disease characteristics (including investigator-defined asthma severity guided by the 2017 Global Initiative for Asthma report), and asthma treatments prescribed (including SABAs and inhaled corticosteroids [ICS]) in the 12 months preceding the study were recorded using electronic case report forms during a single study visit. Results: Of 250 patients analyzed, 50.4%, 33.2%, and 16.4% were enrolled by pulmonologists, general medicine practitioners, and allergists, respectively. Most patients were female (74.0%) and had moderate-to-severe asthma (67.6%). Asthma was partly controlled or uncontrolled in 57.6% of patients, with 15.6% experiencing ≥1 severe exacerbation 12 months before the study visit. In total, 4.0% of patients were prescribed SABA monotherapy and 55.6%, SABA in addition to maintenance therapy. Overall, 39.2% of patients were prescribed ≥3 SABA canisters in the 12 months before the study visit; 25.2% were prescribed ≥10 canisters. Additionally, 17.6% of patients purchased SABAs over the counter, of whom 43.2% purchased ≥3 canisters. Maintenance medication in the form of ICS or ICS/long-acting ß2-agonist fixed-dose combination was prescribed to 36.0% and 66.8% of patients, respectively. Conclusion: Our findings suggest that prescription/purchase of ≥3 SABA canisters were common in Colombia, highlighting a public health concern. There is a need to improve asthma care by aligning clinical practices with the latest evidence-based treatment recommendations to improve asthma management across Colombia.

Assessment of validity and reliability of the tuberculosis related stigma scale in Colombian patients.

OBJECTIVE: To know the dimensionality and internal consistency of the Tuberculosis-Related Stigma Scale in patients living with tuberculosis in Santa Marta, Colombia. METHOD: One hundred and twenty-two patients between the ages of 18 and 75 participated (M = 40.3, SD = 14.9), 63.9% were men, 44.3% were single, 69.7% had low income, 80.3% had pulmonary tuberculosis, and 13.1% had co-infection with HIV. The Tuberculosis-Related Stigma Scale was applied; it comprises perceived and internalised stigma subscales. The internal structure was explored by confirmatory factor analysis (EFA). Internal consistency was measured with Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega. Besides, the differential functioning of the scales according to gender was explored with Kendall's tau-b coefficient. RESULTS: CFA did not show excellent goodness-of-fit indicators for the perceived stigma scale (Satorra-Bentler's chi-square of 184.48, degree of freedom of 44, p = .001, RMSEA of 0.16, 95%CI 0.14-0.19, CFI of 0.77, TLI of 0.72, and SRMR of 0.08) and internalised (Satorra-Bentler's chi-square of 189.14, degree of freedom of 54, p = .001; RMSEA of 0.14, 95%CI 0.12-0.17, CFI of 0.82, TLI of 0.78, and SRMR of 0.07). The alpha and omega coefficients were 0.89 and 0.91 for both scales. Non-gender differential functioning was observed; Kendall's tau-b was between 0.00 and 0.15. CONCLUSIONS: The Tuberculosis-Related Stigma Scale has an excellent internal consistency but poor goodness-of-fit indicators of unidimensionality. Evaluating the scale's psychometric performance is recommenced in future research.

Prevalence and variables associated with insomnia among COVID-19 survivors in Colombia.

BACKGROUND AND AIM OF THE WORK: The prevalence of insomnia is higher in COVID-19 survivors. However, there is little information about his associated variables. The aimed to know the prevalence and variables associated with insomnia among COVID-19 survivors in Colombian adults. METHOD: Three hundred and thirty COVID-19 survivors participated in a cross-sectional study. Insomnia was quantified with the Athens Insomnia Scale (cut-off score ≤ 6, Cronbach's alpha of 0.90). RESULTS: COVID-19 survivors were between 18 and 89 years (Mean = 47.7, SD = 15.2); the majority were women (61.5%), university-educated (62.4%), low income (71.2%), married or free union (66.1%), not healthcare workers (85.8%), without comorbidities (63.0%), asymptomatic or mild COVID-19 (66.1%), duration of COVID-19 symptoms in less than three weeks (80.0%) and remission of symptoms less two months by the day of study participation (73.0%). Scores on the Athens Insomnia Scale were observed between 0 and 24 (M = 7.3, SD = 5.1, Me = 7, IQR = 3 - 10), 60% presented insomnia. Insomnia was associated with post-traumatic stress symptoms (OR = 8.8, 95%CI 2.7 - 29.5), COVID-19 symptoms for more than three weeks (OR = 2.1, 95%CI 1.1 - 3.9), female gender (OR = 1.9, 95%CI 1.2 - 3.2) and married or free union marital status (OR = 1.8, 95%CI 1.1 - 3.0). CONCLUSION: The frequency of insomnia in COVID-19 survivors is high and mainly related to post-traumatic stress, symptoms of COVID-19 for more than three weeks, and the female gender. It is necessary to implement follow-up studies over time to evaluate the persistence of insomnia.