The Impact of Major Earthquakes on Students' Emotional Distress and Internalizing Symptoms, Externalizing Behaviors, and Coping During the Implementation of keepin' it REAL-Mexico.

This article reports on effects of two earthquakes in Mexico on adolescents attending middle school. The earthquakes struck in close succession during the implementation of a school-based prevention program, providing an opportunity to assess emotional distress due to the earthquakes and whether the life skills taught in the program affected how students coped with the natural disaster. The objectives were to (1) evaluate the earthquakes' impact on students' distress; (2) assess if distress is associated with internalizing symptomology and externalizing behaviors; and (3) investigate if students receiving the original and adapted versions of the intervention coped better with the events. A Mexico-US research team culturally adapted keepin' it REAL to address connections between substance use among early adolescents in Mexico and exposure to violence. A random sample of public middle schools from three cities (Mexico City, Guadalajara, and Monterrey), stratified by whether they held morning or afternoon sessions, was selected. A total of 5522 7th grade students from 36 schools participated in the study. Students answered pretest and posttest questionnaires; the latter assessed earthquake-related distress and coping strategies. Earthquake-related distress was associated with all measures of undesired internalizing symptomology and externalizing behaviors. Compared to controls, students in the adapted intervention reported less aggressive and rule-breaking externalizing behavior and less violence perpetration. However, these intervention effects were not moderated by the level of earthquake-related distress, and they were not mediated by positive or negative coping. The findings have implications for prevention intervention research and policy as natural and human-made disasters occur more often.

Use of Violence as a Strategy of Early Adolescents for Rejecting Drug Offers in Mexican Cities.

Drug use and violence are two interconnected problems in violent urban contexts, leading to coercive drug offers. In this study, relationships between drug use, use of violence as a strategy for rejecting drug offers, and exposure to neighborhood violence were analyzed in Mexican students. Data were obtained through a self-report survey and focus groups with lower secondary students in three Mexican metropolitan areas. Both quantitative and qualitative results indicated that students who had used or would use violence as a strategy for rejecting drug offers presented a more problematic psychosocial profile, with exposure to neighborhood violence as the main predictor. These results suggest that Mexican students in violent cities may resort to violence as a strategy for rejecting drug offers.

El consumo de drogas y la violencia son dos problemas interconectados en contextos urbanos violentos y generan ofrecimientos de drogas coercitivos. En este estudio se analizaron las relaciones entre el consumo de drogas, el uso de violencia como una estrategia para resistir ofrecimientos de drogas y la exposición a violencia en el barrio entre estudiantes mexicanos. Se obtuvieron los datos mediante una encuesta de autoinforme y grupos de discusión centrada con estudiantes de educación secundaria en tres áreas metropolitanas de México. Tanto los resultados cuantitativos como los cualitativos indicaron que aquellos estudiantes que habían usado o usarían violencia como una estrategia para resistir ofrecimientos de drogas presentaban un perfil psicosocial más problemático, con la exposición a violencia en el barrio como el principal predictor. Estos resultados sugieren que los estudiantes mexicanos en ciudades violentas pueden recurrir a la violencia como una estrategia para resistir ofrecimientos de drogas.

Individual Factors Associated With COVID-19 Infection: A Machine Learning Study.

The fast, exponential increase of COVID-19 infections and their catastrophic effects on patients' health have required the development of tools that support health systems in the quick and efficient diagnosis and prognosis of this disease. In this context, the present study aims to identify the potential factors associated with COVID-19 infections, applying machine learning techniques, particularly random forest, chi-squared, xgboost, and rpart for feature selection; ROSE and SMOTE were used as resampling methods due to the existence of class imbalance. Similarly, machine and deep learning algorithms such as support vector machines, C4.5, random forest, rpart, and deep neural networks were explored during the train/test phase to select the best prediction model. The dataset used in this study contains clinical data, anthropometric measurements, and other health parameters related to smoking habits, alcohol consumption, quality of sleep, physical activity, and health status during confinement due to the pandemic associated with COVID-19. The results showed that the XGBoost model got the best features associated with COVID-19 infection, and random forest approximated the best predictive model with a balanced accuracy of 90.41% using SMOTE as a resampling technique. The model with the best performance provides a tool to help prevent contracting SARS-CoV-2 since the variables with the highest risk factor are detected, and some of them are, to a certain extent controllable.

The Feasibility, Acceptability, and Utility of Mantente REAL: the Culturally Adapted Version of keepin' it REAL for Mexico.

A binational team of investigators culturally adapted, implemented, and tested the efficacy in Mexico of keepin' it REAL, a US-designed prevention intervention for youth. This article reports on the social validity of the adapted intervention by assessing its feasibility, acceptability, and utility, as perceived by participating middle school students, teachers/implementers, and school administrators. Middle schools (N = 36) were randomly assigned to (1) the culturally adapted version for Mexico (Mantente REAL), (2) the original intervention from the USA (keepin' it REAL) translated into Spanish, or (3) a control condition (treatment as usual). Adult and child feedback about the adapted and original versions of the intervention indicate that both are feasible to implement in the Mexican context. Implementation fidelity was equally high for both versions of the manualized intervention. Students, however, were more satisfied with the culturally adapted version than with the non-adapted version. They reported gaining more knowledge, finding it more acceptable, applicable, and authentic, and they reported discussing the program with their family and friends more often. The findings support the feasibility of engaging classroom teachers to implement manualized prevention programs in Mexico. These findings also advance prevention science by documenting the importance of cultural adaptation as a means to increase students' identification with and acceptability of efficacious school-based interventions. The article discusses the practice, policy, and future prevention research implications of the findings for Mexico and their potential generalizability to other middle- and lower-income countries.

ICD-11 Guidelines for Mental and Behavioral Disorders of Children and Adolescents: Reliability and Clinical Utility.

OBJECTIVE: ICD-11 clinical guidelines for mental and behavioral disorders must be tested in clinical settings to guarantee their usefulness worldwide. The purpose of this study was to evaluate interrater reliability and clinical utility of the ICD-11 guidelines for children and adolescents in assessing and diagnosing mood, anxiety, and fear-related disorders; attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD); and disruptive behavioral disorder (DBD). METHODS: Children and adolescents ages 6-17 from two specialized settings in Mexico City were interviewed. Each was interviewed by a pair of psychiatrists (interviewer and observer), who independently codified established diagnoses and evaluated the clinical utility of the guidelines with each participant. Kappa values were calculated to determine the level of general diagnostic correlation between the two clinicians. RESULTS: A total of 25 psychiatrists evaluated 52 children and adolescents. Kappa values between clinicians ranged from 0.46 to 0.53 for mood, anxiety, and fear-related disorders and for ADHD; the kappa value was 0.81 for DBD guidelines. Over 80% of psychiatrists reported that the guidelines, qualifiers, and descriptions of developmental presentations were quite useful. CONCLUSIONS: ICD-11 guidelines for mental and behavioral disorders of children and adolescents demonstrated mostly moderate interrater reliability and strong interrater reliability in the case of DBD. A large proportion of clinicians regarded the guidelines as quite useful clinical tools.

COVID-19 and alcohol in Mexico: A serious health crisis, strong actions on alcohol in response-Commentary on Stockwell et al.

The present text comments on Stockwell and colleagues' paper documenting the high burden of alcohol use in COVID-19 related mortality in the USA and Canada in North America and the absence of a control policy in several countries of the world. This comment adds information about the third country in North America, Mexico. It describes alcohol use during the COVID lockdown and its consequences, highlighting the control efforts through public health policies and ponders the weaknesses of the current response to the health crisis and opportunities in the aftermath.

A qualitative assessment of psycho-educational videos for frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers in Mexico / Evaluación cualitativa de videos psicoeducativos para personal de salud de primera línea ante el COVID-19 en México

Abstract Introduction Frontline COVID-19 healthcare workers (FLHCWs) are at a high-risk of suffering occupational stress- and trauma-related mental health problems, including burnout and compassion fatigue (B&CF). Given the time limitations (due to their heavy workloads) and need to minimize face-to-face interventions (in order to avoid contagions), psychological interventions for FHCWs should be as brief and remote as possible. Objective To evaluate the usability and clarity of evidence-based psycho-educational videos to prevent B&CF, to deal with uncooperative, hostile, and anxious patients and relatives, and to use personal protective equipment (PPE), from the perspective of Mexican FLHCWs. Method Based on a convenience sampling by intensity approach, videos were distributed requesting feedback based on specific questions through WhatsApp to FLHCWs. Field notes were used to triangulate the information. Results Content analysis of feedback from a final sample of 24 participants ‒75% women, 42 ± 8.4 years old‒ yielded three general thematic categories and seven subthemes: 1. content evaluation, which included three subthemes: utility, pertinence, and practicality; 2. dissemination and other needs, with two subcategories: willingness to share and receive more videos (other needs); and 3. format aspects, also comprising two subthemes: attractiveness and duration. All participants found the videos content very beneficial, relevant, and applicable to the workplace and even in their everyday personal and family life, and were willing to share them and to receive more videos on other issues, including strategies to manage problems related to isolation. Discussion and conclusion Escalation of this remote preventive intervention to other COVID-19 centers and future similar epidemics is recommended.

Resumen Introducción Los trabajadores de la salud de primera línea (TSPL) ante el COVID-19 presentan alto riesgo de desgaste profesional y fatiga por compasión (DP&FC). Tomando en cuenta sus limitaciones de tiempo y la necesidad de minimizar las intervenciones cara a cara, las intervenciones psicológicas para los TSPL deben ser tan breves y remotas como sea posible. Objetivo Evaluar la utilidad y claridad de videos psicoeducativos basados en evidencia para prevenir DP&FC, el manejo de pacientes y familiares no cooperativos, hostiles o ansiosos, y el uso de equipo de protección personal desde la perspectiva de los TSPL mexicanos. Método Los videos se distribuyeron a los TSPL por medio de WhatsApp, solicitándoles su opinión con base en preguntas específicas. Se utilizaron notas de campo para triangular esta información. Resultados El análisis de contenido de las retroalimentaciones recibidas por una muestra final de 24 participantes ‒75% mujeres, 42 ± 8.4 años‒ arrojó tres categorías temáticas y nueve subtemas: 1. evaluación de contenido, con tres subtemas: utilidad, pertinencia y practicidad, 2. difusión y otras necesidades, con dos subcategorías: disponibilidad tanto a compartir como a recibir más videos (otras necesidades), y 3. aspectos de forma, también con dos subtemas: atractivo y duración. La totalidad consideró los videos muy benéficos, relevantes y aplicables en el trabajo y su vida diaria personal y familiar; y reportó disposición a compartirlos y a recibir más material de este tipo. Discusión y conclusión Se recomienda el escalamiento de esta medida preventiva y remota a otros centros COVID-19 y en futuras epidemias similares.

A Qualitative Study of the Acceptability of the Proposed ICD-11 Gender Incongruence of Childhood Diagnosis Among Transgender Adults Who Were Labeled Due to Their Gender Identity Since Childhood.

For the forthcoming ICD-11, the ICD-10 category of Gender Identity Disorder of Childhood has been reformulated as Gender Incongruence of Childhood (GIC) and moved out of the mental disorders chapter. Proponents of eliminating the GIC diagnosis altogether claim that it is unnecessary and inherently harmful, although they do not eschew the diagnosis for adolescents and adults. Using a qualitative methodology, this study examined the impact of receiving a diagnosis related to gender identity as a child among transgender people who had had this experience, and evaluated participants' views of the acceptability and usefulness of the ICD-11 GIC proposal. Participants receiving health services at a specialized public clinic for transgender health in Mexico City who had received some form of diagnosis in childhood were referred to participate in a semistructured interview. A sample of 12 transgender people (eight transgender women and four transgender men; ages 18-49) was necessary to reach saturation. Diagnoses received were non-specific rather than formal gender identity diagnoses, were experienced by participants as negative, and were used to justify potentially harmful interventions. However, when participants reviewed the ICD-11 proposals for GIC, all indicated that the category was necessary and important and could have a range of personal, familial, and social benefits. They agreed with its placement in a new chapter on Conditions Related to Sexual Health and endorsed the proposed definition and name of the category. Although this study involved a small and specific sample, the results raise questions about the claim that the diagnosis is inherently harmful and universally deplored by transgender people.

Spanish version of the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale: factor structure, reliability, and validity in Mexican adolescents.

To validate the Substance Use Risk Profile Scale (SURPS) in a sample of Mexican adolescents, this brief 23-item self-report questionnaire has been developed to screen four high-risk personality traits for substance misuse, to guide targeted approaches to prevention of addictions in adolescents. The scale has been previously validated in United Kingdom, Canada, Sri Lanka and China. A sample of 671 adolescents aged 11-17 completed a Spanish translation of the SURPS as well as other measures of personality and substance use. The Spanish translation of the SURPS has moderate internal consistency, and demonstrated a four-factor structure very similar to the original scale. The four subscales show good concurrent validity and three of the subscales were found to correlate with measures of substance use. The Spanish translation of the SURPS seems to be a valid and sensitive scale that can be used in a Mexican adolescent population.

El mundo de las Drogas en México y el camino por recorrer / The Drug Scene in Mexico and the Road Ahead

México es un país afectado por las drogas en todos los aspectos: es un país productor de drogas como la heroína, la marihuana y las metanfetaminas, principalmente para los mercados externos, aunque también hay una demanda interna en crecimiento; es un país de tránsito para la cocaína, que ha encontrado una vía, a través del corredor de Centro América y México, en su camino hacia los mercados tanto externos como para el abastecimiento interno. Y, como resultado de la creciente disponibilidad de sustancias y de un entorno social favorable, ha devenido un país consumidor donde el uso experimental y la dependencia a las drogas ilegales, aunque siguen siendo bajos, se han incrementado. El abuso/dependencia de sustancias legales como el alcohol y el tabaco son los principales problemas de abuso de sustancias; sólo el abuso de los medicamentos se mantiene bajo y relativamente estable, principalmente como resultado de la baja disponibilidad para fines médicos y, por lo tanto, con poco margen para la desviación. Los costos sociales son considerables y, como ocurre en otros países de la región, la violencia es la característica dominante en el mundo de las drogas, viéndose incrementada a partir de 2008. Dentro de estos importantes retos para la salud y la seguridad, es cierto también que se han realizado esfuerzos continuos y significativos, desde 1972, mediante programas de reducción de la demanda a nivel nacional y adaptados a las circunstancias cambiantes. Este editorial pretende relatar la historia de las transiciones de la droga en México y los programas que se han implementado, y se analizan las áreas de oportunidad para un nuevo enfoque (AU)

Mexico is a country affected by drugs in every aspect: it is a drug producing country of heroin, marihuana and methamphetamines, mainly for external markets but also for the growing internal demand; it is a transit country for cocaine that has found its way through the Central American and Mexican corridor on its way to external markets and for the internal supply. As a result of the increasing availability of substances and a favorable social environment, it has become a consuming country; drug experimentation use and dependence of illegal drugs, although still low, have increased. The abuse/dependence of legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco are the main substance abuse problems; only the abuse of pharmaceuticals remains low and relatively stable, mainly as a result of low availability for medical purposes and therefore limited scope for deviation. Social costs are considerable, as happens in other countries in the region, violence being the most prevailing characteristic of the drug scene, increasing from 2008 onwards. Within these important challenges for health and security, it is also true that significant, continuous efforts have been made by demand reduction programs at the national level since1972 and adapted to the changing circumstances. This editorial seeks to tell the story of drug transitions in Mexico and the programs that have been implemented and discusses areas of opportunity for a new approach (AU)

The drug scene in Mexico and the road ahead.

Mexico is a country affected by drugs in every aspect: it is a drug producing country of heroin, marihuana and methamphetamines, mainly for external markets but also for the growing internal demand; it is a transit country for cocaine that has found its way through the Central American and Mexican corridor on its way to external markets and for the internal supply. As a result of the increasing availability of substances and a favorable social environment, it has become a consuming country; drug experimentation use and dependence of illegal drugs, although still low, have increased. The abuse/dependence of legal substances such as alcohol and tobacco are the main substance abuse problems; only the abuse of pharmaceuticals remains low and relatively stable, mainly as a result of low availability for medical purposes and therefore limited scope for deviation. Social costs are considerable, as happens in other countries in the region, violence being the most prevailing characteristic of the drug scene, increasing from 2008 onwards. Within these important challenges for health and security, it is also true that significant, continuous efforts have been made by demand reduction programs at the national level since 1972 and adapted to the changing circumstances. This editorial seeks to tell the story of drug transitions in Mexico and the programs that have been implemented and discusses areas of opportunity for a new approach.

[Drugs and public health: where are we heading to?]. / Las drogas y la salud pública: ¿hacia dónde vamos?

This paper describes a plan for the attention of addictions from a public health perspective; it defines strengths of this perspective and its limitations to face the special challenges that the problem represents for social policies; adopts a wider perspective that includes the integration of health and social issues in measuring policy results having as a main aim the benefit of the person and of the communities with a perspective of the populations well being. It describes the challenge the country faces as producer, route of traffic and rates of consumption, analyzes briefly the evidence of public policies and makes a series of recommendations.

Las drogas y la salud pública: ¿hacia dónde vamos? / Drugs and public health: where are we heading to?

El artículo presenta una propuesta para la atención del problema de las adicciones desde un enfoque de salud pública, define sus alcances y limitaciones frente a los retos del fenómeno, especialmente para la formulación de políticas; se suma a las propuestas que buscan integrar los temas sociales en la evaluación del resultado de las acciones y que proponen como meta última el bien de la persona y de las comunidades con una perspectiva de bienestar para la población. Describe el reto que enfrenta México en su papel como país productor, de tránsito y de consumo, analiza brevemente la evidencia sobre las políticas públicas y hace una serie de recomendaciones al respecto.

This paper describes a plan for the attention of addictions from a public health perspective; it defines strengths of this perspective and its limitations to face the special challenges that the problem represents for social policies; adopts a wider perspective that includes the integration of health and social issues in measuring policy results having as a main aim the benefit of the person and of the communities with a perspective of the populations well being. It describes the challenge the country faces as producer, route of traffic and rates of consumption, analyzes briefly the evidence of public policies and makes a series of recommendations.

Revisión sistemática sobre tratamiento de adicciones en México / A systematic review of addiction treatment in Mexico

The consumption of substances with addictive potential is a relevant health problem. In Mexico, the abuse is spreading and the use of services is unfrequent. To extend the offer and accessibility to treatment means to increase the coverage and to guarantee that efficient and effective models are used to treat the patients. The aim of the paper was to learn what has been investigated in this respect; a systematic review of the studies was undertaken to evaluate the treatment research through clinical trials. Methods A review of the published literature from 1980 to 2010 in databases and specialized documentation centers was undertaken. Reports of clinical trials to evaluate interventions for the consumption of alcohol, tobacco and drugs were included. The criteria proposed by CONSORT were used as indicators. Results Two hundred and twenty publications were located on treatment in Mexico, of which only 26 (11.8 %) corresponded to clinical trials to evaluate the impact of different interventions. The most used type of treatment was the cognitive-behavioral brief one, followed by its combination with therapy of replacement, pharmacological therapy and individual psychotherapy or group therapy. Trials also included evaluation of motivational brief therapy, the program «La familia enseñante¼ (teaching family) and psychotherapy, as well as the therapy centered on solutions. Discussion Most of the clinical trials localized do not comply with the criteria or do it partially. Additionally they have short scopes due to the limited size of the samples. The results reveal that the reports published of investigations are very scanty to evaluate programs of treatment. There is a need to implement programs of treatment directed to specific populations and to the use of different types of drugs, and to evaluate the interventions.

El consumo de sustancias con potencial adictivo es un problema relevante de salud. En México el abuso se está extendiendo y el uso de servicios es poco frecuente. Ampliar la oferta y la accesibilidad al tratamiento significa aumentar la cobertura y garantizar que se apliquen modelos eficaces y efectivos. Con el propósito de conocer qué es lo que se ha investigado en este sentido, se desarrolló una revisión sistemática de los estudios realizados para evaluar los programas de tratamiento. Método Se realizó una revisión de la bibliografía publicada de 1980 a 2010 en bases de datos y centros de documentación especializados. Se incluyeron reportes de estudios para evaluar intervenciones y tratamientos para el consumo de alcohol, tabaco y drogas. Se utilizaron como indicadores los criterios propuestos por Moher et al., del CONSORT. Resultados Se localizaron 220 publicaciones sobre tratamiento en México, de las cuales solo 26 (11.8%) correspondieron a ensayos clínicos para evaluar el impacto de diferentes intervenciones. El tipo de tratamiento más utilizado fue el cognitivo-conductual breve, seguido por su combinación con terapia de reemplazo, terapia farmacológica y psicoterapia. También se evaluó la terapia breve motivacional, el programa de «La familia enseñante¼ y la terapia centrada en soluciones. Discusión y conclusiones Al analizar las publicaciones se encontró que la mayoría no cumple con los criterios de los ensayos clínicos aleatorizados o lo hace parcialmente. Adicionalmente tienen cortos alcances debido al reducido tamaño de las muestras. Los resultados revelan que aún son muy escasos los reportes publicados de investigaciones para evaluar programas de tratamiento. Se enfatiza la necesidad de implementar programas dirigidos a poblaciones específicas y acordes a cada tipo de droga, así como la relevancia de generar investigación científica aplicada a la evaluación de las intervenciones.

Estudio de costo-efectividad de intervenciones para prevenir el abuso de alcohol en México / Cost-effectiveness study of interventions to prevent alcohol abuse in Mexico

Introduction In Mexico, alcohol abuse involves overhead costs in terms of premature mortality caused by their related health problems. It is estimated that by itself it implies 9% of the total burden of disease in the country. Although effective interventions exist to treat this problem, national public policies are not integrated and in many occasions its real application is questioned. Cost-effectiveness studies are tools that permit to develop and to implement health public policies because they imply a rigorous economic evaluation and comparison of those in order to determine which obtains better balance between effectiveness and financial viability. Thus, the aim of the present study was to determine the cost-effectiveness of interventions to prevent and to control alcohol abuse in Mexico, based on the proposed methodology by the World Health Organization. It will permit to generate national public policies with local evidence and to carry out evaluations of their impact, as well as international comparisons. Method The World Health Organization methodology named WHO-CHOICE (CHOosing the Interventions that are Cost-Effective) was developed to evaluate and to select the most cost-effective interventions for the prevention or treatment of health problems. It is considered a generalized cost-effective analysis; therefore direct or tangible costs are particularly analyzed (vs. indirect or intangible costs). Procedure First, WHO-CHOICE analysis requires information from different sources about both the illness or problem and the preventive or therapeutic interventions to evaluate. Then, information is processed by special software. As annual standard discount of 3% is done to obtain and to compare the present supplies values; and age of individuals is praised, giving more weight to the young phases. Finally, the results are presented in terms of intervention cost-effectiveness to reduce the burden of disease, defined in terms of disability adjusted life years or DALYs. Interventions The following interventions were evaluated: 1. Current Setting: Taxes and random tests for the detection of alcoholic breath (breathalyzer); 2. Increment of 25% to taxes of products with harmful degree of alcohol; 3. Increment of 50% to taxes of products with harmful degree of alcohol; 4. Reduction of availability of products with harmful degree of alcohol; 5. Regulation of the associated publicity; 6. Brief preventive-persuasiveness intervention in the first level of attention; and 7. Random Tests for detection of alcoholic breath (breathalyzer). Results The independent measure with greater cost-effectiveness to avoid DALYs due to alcohol abuse was the increment of taxes, which is better when it reaches 50%. All increment of taxes avoids (with or without discount and adjustment by age) more than 1 50 000 DALYs per year. The increment of 50% surpasses even 300 000 DALYs per year (without adjustment neither discount). In contrast, none of the other interventions (with adjustment and discount) reaches 50 000 DALYs per year. Besides, the increments of taxes are always more economic than the interventions remainder. The extreme comparison of DALY avoided per year costs is among 50% taxes increment, which requires an investment of 567 Mexican pesos, and the brief intervention in the first level of attention, that implies an expense of 14,342 Mexican pesos. After taxes increment, effective independent interventions to reduce DALYs in Mexico include, in this order: reduction of the offering, integral prohibition of alcohol consumption publicity, brief intervention in the first level of attention, and the random test of alcoholic breath. Finally, the best integral strategy was a combination of the following measures: increment of taxes, greater proportion of people attended with brief interventions, control of publicity, and reduction of availability. Discussion In Mexico, as in many countries of the world, the increase of taxes was the most cost-effective intervention to reduce burden caused from abuse alcohol. This kind of interventions should consider the possible differential impacts according to the socioeconomical status of individuals or groups. Another related problem could be an increment of informal market. Therefore, it is necessary to complement the intervention with strategies directed at reducing the volume of alcoholic beverages that do not pay taxes. All other interventions (not taxes increment) were less cost-effective probably because they have considerably higher costs and smaller impact due their dispensation is eventual. Results of this exercise can have a positive impact among Mexican public policies on the field if the relevance of integral strategies is recognized, with political support, and having achieved a consensus of the population on the advantages of its orchestration.

Introducción Los análisis de costo-efectividad se sugieren como una herramienta esencial para gestionar e implementar políticas públicas en salud, pues permiten compararlas a fin de conocer cuál es la que obtiene mejor balance entre efectividad y viabilidad financiera. El objetivo del presente trabajo fue determinar el costo-efectividad de las intervenciones para prevenir y controlar el abuso de alcohol en México. Método Se utilizó la metodología WHO-CHOICE de la Organización Mundial de la Salud: un análisis de costo-efectividad generalizado (vs. particular) que toma en cuenta prácticamente los costos directos o tangibles (vs. los intangibles). El procedimiento implica la obtención de información de diversas fuentes, tanto de la enfermedad o problema en cuestión como de las intervenciones preventivas o terapéuticas a evaluar. Esta información se carga entonces para su análisis en un software o programa ad hoc. Se hace un descuento estándar de 3% anual para obtener y comparar el valor presente de los insumos, y se pondera la edad de los individuos, dando más peso a las etapas jóvenes. Finalmente, los resultados se plantean en términos de costo-efectividad de las intervenciones para reducir la carga de la enfermedad, definida en años vividos con discapacidad o disfunción (DALYs, por sus siglas en inglés: disability adjusted life-years). Las intervenciones que se evaluaron son: 1. Escenario actual: Impuestos al consumo de productos con grado nocivo de alcohol y pruebas aleatorias a automovilistas para detección de aliento alcohólico (alcoholímetro); 2. Incremento de 25% en los impuestos al consumo de productos con grado nocivo de alcohol; 3. Incremento de 50% en los impuestos al consumo de productos con grado nocivo de alcohol; 4. Reducción de la disponibilidad de productos con grado nocivo de alcohol (incrementar edad permitida del cliente, horario de venta, densidad de puntos de venta y corresponsabilidad del expendedor); 5. Regulación de la publicidad asociada al consumo de productos con grado nocivo de alcohol; 6. Intervención preventi-va-persuasiva breve en el primer nivel de atención; 7. Pruebas aleatorias a automovilistas para detección de aliento alcohólico. Resultados La medida independiente con mayor costo-efectividad para evitar DALYs debidos al abuso de alcohol fue el incremento de impuestos, más aún cuando llega a 50%. Todos los incrementos de impuestos evitan por sí solos (con o sin descuento y ajuste por edad) más de 150 000 DALYs por año. El incremento de 50% supera incluso los 300 000 (sin ajuste ni descuento). En cambio, ninguna de las otras intervenciones (con ajuste y descuento) llega a los 50 000. Además, los incrementos de impuestos son siempre más económicos que el resto de las intervenciones. La comparación extrema del costo por DALY evitado al año es entre el incremento de impuestos a 50%, que requiere una inversión de 567 pesos, y el consejo breve en el primer nivel de atención, que implica un gasto de hasta 14,342 pesos. Finalmente, la mejor estrategia integral fue la combinación de las siguientes medidas: incremento de impuestos, mayor proporción de personas atendidas con intervenciones breves, control de la publicidad y reducción de la disponibilidad de alcohol. Discusión Aunque el aumento de impuestos resultó, como en muchos países del mundo, la intervención aislada más costo-efectiva para reducir la carga que ocasiona el alcohol, deben tomarse en cuenta sus posibles impactos diferenciales en tanto el poder adquisitivo de los individuos o grupos y sobre el crecimiento del mercado de alcohol informal. Esto último sugiere la necesidad de acompañarle con estrategias dirigidas a reducir el volumen de bebidas alcohólicas que no pagan impuestos. El resto de las intervenciones fueron menos efectivas en tanto que tienen un impacto considerablemente menor cuando se dispensan de forma aislada, debido principalmente a sus altos costos.

Estudio de costo-efectividad del tratamiento de la depresión en México / Cost-effectiveness study of depression management in Mexico

Introduction Depression is a public health problem that carries substantial costs for the individual and the society. In order to establish evidence-based priorities for resource allocation in mental health care, it is necessary to integrate the costs and effectiveness of interventions and specify the essential packages for their treatment. The following are pioneering studies of cost-effectiveness for the treatment of depression: 1. compared psychopharmacology options (fluoxetine, imipramine and desipramine) to found no difference between drugs in terms of clinical efficacy, effect on quality of life and costs, and 2. evaluated cost-effectiveness of collaborative program of stepped care in primary care of persistent depression, to demonstrate a substantial increase in the effectiveness and additional moderate cost increase in comparison with usual treatment. Recently, the World Health Organization convened the National Institute of Psychiatry Ramón de la Fuente, as a collaborating center, to participate in the <

Introducción La depresión es un problema de salud pública que conlleva costos importantes para el individuo y la sociedad. Con la finalidad de establecer prioridades basadas en evidencias para la asignación de recursos en el cuidado de la salud mental, es necesario integrar los costos y la efectividad de las intervenciones y especificar los paquetes esenciales para su tratamiento. En esta dirección, la Organización Mundial de la Salud convocó al Instituto Nacional de Psiquiatría Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz, como centro colaborador, a participar en el proyecto <

Epidemiology of inhalant use.

PURPOSE OF REVIEW: The aim of the present article is to review recent research on the prevalence and correlates of inhalant use. RECENT FINDINGS: During the review period more prevalence studies have been conducted in the developing world, adding information to the ongoing studies that are periodically undertaken in the more developed countries. These studies suggest that inhalant use is widespread among children and adolescents and is increasing among females in the developing and developed world. Not all surveys report inhalants as a separate group from other illegal substances; data by type of inhalants are even rarer, and few studies address abuse or dependence. New evidence suggests lower reliability rates for the diagnostic criteria of dependence as compared with other substances, suggesting the need for a review including the evidence of withdrawal. Studies conducted in the period identify vulnerable groups and suggest an increased risk of injecting drug use, HIV, suicidality and psychiatric disorders among inhalant users. SUMMARY: The extension of inhalant abuse and its adverse consequences argues for greater efforts to advance classification and to increase knowledge through research, including the evaluation of prevention and treatment models.