Epidemiology for public health practice: The application of spatial epidemiology.

Spatial epidemiology is the description and analysis of geographic patterns and variations in disease risk factors, morbidity and mortality with respect to their distributions associated with demographic, socioeconomic, environmental, health behavior, and genetic risk factors, and time-varying changes. In the Letter to Editor, we had a brief description of the practice for the mortality and the space-time patterns of John Snow's map of cholera epidemic in London, United Kingdom in 1854. This map is one of the earliest public heath practices of developing and applying spatial epidemiology. In the early history, spatial epidemiology was predominantly applied in infectious disease and risk factor studies. However, since the recent decades, noncommunicable diseases have become the leading cause of death in both developing and developed countries, spatial epidemiology has been used in the study of noncommunicable disease. In the Letter, we addressed two examples that applied spatial epidemiology to cluster and identify stroke belt and diabetes belt across the states and counties in the United States. Similar to any other epidemiological study design and analysis approaches, spatial epidemiology has its limitations. We should keep in mind when applying spatial epidemiology in research and in public health practice.

Hallazgos clínicos e histomorfológicos en pacientes con esteatosis hepática no alcohólica / Clinical and hystomorphological findings in patients with non alcoholic hepatic steatosis

Se realizó un estudio observacional y descriptivo de 32 pacientes con esteatosis hepática no alcohólica, diagnosticados en el Hospital Provincial Docente Clinicoquirúrgico Saturnino Lora Torres de Santiago de Cuba, de enero de 2011 a junio de 2013, a fin de caracterizarles epidemiológica, clínica e histomorfológicamente. En la investigación se obtuvo un incremento de la esteatosis hepática no alcohólica entre las hepatopatías crónicas, con predominio en personas de los grupos etarios de 35-44 y 45-54 años y del sexo masculino, y una mayor asociación a la hipertrigliceridemia y la hipertransaminasemia; igualmente, la dislipidemia y el sobrepeso -- según índice de masa corporal -- representaron los factores de riesgo más frecuentes en los afectados. No se encontró significación estadística al correlacionar los hallazgos ecográficos con los obtenidos por biopsia, de manera que quedó reafirmado que la laparoscopia constituye el medio de mayor sensibilidad y especificidad para diagnosticar la enfermedad en cuestión(AU)

An observational and descriptive study of 32 patients with hepatic alcoholic steatosis, diagnosed in Saturnino Lora Torres Teaching Clinical Surgical Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba was carried out from January, 2011 to June, 2013, in order to characterize them epidemiologically, clinically and hystomorphologically. In the investigation an increment of the non alcoholic hepatic steatosis was obtained among the chronic hepatopathies, with prevalence in people of the age groups 35-44 and 45-54 years and of the male sex, and a higher association to hypertriglyceridemia and hypertransaminasemia; equally, the dyslipidemia and overweight -- according to index of body mass -- represented the most frequent risk factors in those affected. There was no statistical significance when correlating the echographical with the biopsy findings, so that it was reaffirmed that laparoscopy constitutes the most sensitive and specific mean to diagnose the disease(AU)

Hallazgos clínicos e histomorfológicos en pacientes con esteatosis hepática no alcohólica / Clinical and hystomorphological findings in patients with non alcoholic hepatic steatosis

Se realizó un estudio observacional y descriptivo de 32 pacientes con esteatosis hepática no alcohólica, diagnosticados en el Hospital Provincial Docente Clinicoquirúrgico "Saturnino Lora Torres" de Santiago de Cuba, de enero de 2011 a junio de 2013, a fin de caracterizarles epidemiológica, clínica e histomorfológicamente. En la investigación se obtuvo un incremento de la esteatosis hepática no alcohólica entre las hepatopatías crónicas, con predominio en personas de los grupos etarios de 35-44 y 45-54 años y del sexo masculino, y una mayor asociación a la hipertrigliceridemia y la hipertransaminasemia; igualmente, la dislipidemia y el sobrepeso -- según índice de masa corporal -- representaron los factores de riesgo más frecuentes en los afectados. No se encontró significación estadística al correlacionar los hallazgos ecográficos con los obtenidos por biopsia, de manera que quedó reafirmado que la laparoscopia constituye el medio de mayor sensibilidad y especificidad para diagnosticar la enfermedad en cuestión.

An observational and descriptive study of 32 patients with hepatic alcoholic steatosis, diagnosed in "Saturnino Lora Torres" Teaching Clinical Surgical Provincial Hospital in Santiago de Cuba was carried out from January, 2011 to June, 2013, in order to characterize them epidemiologically, clinically and hystomorphologically. In the investigation an increment of the non alcoholic hepatic steatosis was obtained among the chronic hepatopathies, with prevalence in people of the age groups 35-44 and 45-54 years and of the male sex, and a higher association to hypertriglyceridemia and hypertransaminasemia; equally, the dyslipidemia and overweight -- according to index of body mass -- represented the most frequent risk factors in those affected. There was no statistical significance when correlating the echographical with the biopsy findings, so that it was reaffirmed that laparoscopy constitutes the most sensitive and specific mean to diagnose the disease.