Disability-free life expectancy: a cross-national comparison among Bulgarian, Italian, and Latin American older population.

OBJECTIVE: To present sociodemographic and health status harmonized variables constructed to evaluate cross-national differences in term of Disability Free Life Expectancy (DFLE) across different surveys. METHOD: The study comprises national surveys conducted in Bulgaria, Italy, and Latin America and the Caribbean. A homogeneous group of health determinants for the older population was created and the DFLE indicator based on Sullivan's method was developed considering the harmonized common variables on disability. RESULTS: For all countries, DFLE values decline as age increases for both sexes, with a pronounced decline among women. Regardless the native country, women always present higher Life Expectancy than men at each age; however, they live a higher percentage of these years with disability. DISCUSSION: Further research should be carried out with standardized instruments that allow a more direct comparison, along with measurements of the potential differences across countries, which could explain differences in disability prevalence and DFLE.

Salud sexual y reproductiva desde el punto de vista del varón / Sexual and reproductive health from the male's point of view

El estudio sobre sexualidad y reproducción desde el punto de vista del hombre es actual. El conocimiento adquirido en esta área es aún insuficiente en el mundo, en América Latina y especialmente en Cuba. Este estudio es parte del multinacional, realizado en las áreas más urbanizadas de Argentina, Bolivia, Perú y Cuba, en hombres de 20 a 29 años de edad. En nuestro país se realizaron 8 grupos focales y una encuesta con una muestra representativa de Ciudad de La Habana. Las percepciones, los comportamientos y los factores que se relacionan con el tema fueron los objetivos. Los encuestados, en su mayoría, nacieron o se criaron en la capital. Predominan los que dicen haberse iniciado sexualmente en la adolescencia temprana con métodos de dominio masculino. La negociación sobre la protección en pocos casos se produce en la iniciación. Se refleja la existencia de percepciones de poder del varón en cuanto a la toma de decisiones para las relaciones sexuales, pero, hay contradicciones con los métodos que dicen usar y los que realmente se usan en el país. Se encontró que en la negociación de la protección, mediante la conversación, sólo una parte la realiza y esto se asocia con el tipo de método que refieren haber utilizado. Cuando conversan, dicen que son de dominio masculino, pero cuando no conversan sobre el tema, sólo un número pequeño identifica el uso de algo para la protección, lo que permite considerar que la información del hombre subestima el uso de la anticoncepción

Salud sexual y reproductiva desde el punto de vista del varón / Sexual and reproductive health from the male's point of view

El estudio sobre sexualidad y reproducción desde el punto de vista del hombre es actual. El conocimiento adquirido en esta área es aún insuficiente en el mundo, en América Latina y especialmente en Cuba. Este estudio es parte del multinacional, realizado en las áreas más urbanizadas de Argentina, Bolivia, Perú y Cuba, en hombres de 20 a 29 años de edad. En nuestro país se realizaron 8 grupos focales y una encuesta con una muestra representativa de Ciudad de La Habana. Las percepciones, los comportamientos y los factores que se relacionan con el tema fueron los objetivos. Los encuestados, en su mayoría, nacieron o se criaron en la capital. Predominan los que dicen haberse iniciado sexualmente en la adolescencia temprana con métodos de dominio masculino. La negociación sobre la protección en pocos casos se produce en la iniciación. Se refleja la existencia de percepciones de poder del varón en cuanto a la toma de decisiones para las relaciones sexuales, pero, hay contradicciones con los métodos que dicen usar y los que realmente se usan en el país. Se encontró que en la negociación de la protección, mediante la conversación, sólo una parte la realiza y esto se asocia con el tipo de método que refieren haber utilizado. Cuando conversan, dicen que son de dominio masculino, pero cuando no conversan sobre el tema, sólo un número pequeño identifica el uso de algo para la protección, lo que permite considerar que la información del hombre subestima el uso de la anticoncepción(AU)

[Chronic diseases and functional limitation in older adults: a comparative study in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean]. / Enfermedades crónicas y limitación funcional en adultos mayores: estudio comparativo en siete ciudades de América Latina y el Caribe.

OBJECTIVE: To identify the relationship between selected chronic diseases and the presence of disability in inhabitants 60 years old or older in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. METHODS: In 2000 and 2001 a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 10 891 persons 60 or older in seven cities: Bridgetown, Barbados; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Montevideo, Uruguay; Santiago, Chile; and São Paulo, Brazil. This research was part of the Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento (Health, Well-Being, and Aging) project (known as the "SABE project"). The dependent variables in the study were difficulty in performing basic activities of daily living, and difficulty in performing instrumental activities of daily living. Compiled from self-reports, the independent variables were: age, sex, educational level, living alone or with other person(s), self-assessed health, and the presence or not of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and osteoarthritis. The presence of depression and cognitive impairment in the participants was evaluated, and body mass index was also calculated. To compare the degree of influence of the different variables on disability, a standardized coefficient for each association was calculated. RESULTS: In the seven cities studied, the variables that showed a direct association with difficulty in carrying out basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living were: suffering from a higher number of noncommunicable diseases, from cerebrovascular diseases, from osteoarthritis, or from depression; being older; being female; rating one's own health as bad; and experiencing cognitive impairment. In general the strongest associations were between difficulty in carrying out instrumental activities of daily living and depression, being older, reporting one's health as bad, and the presence of cerebrovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, or cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS: Our research provides the first systematized description of the associations between disability and chronic noncommunicable diseases in older adults in Latin America and the Caribbean. Difficulties that older adults have in carrying out instrumental activities of daily living are the first ones to appear. Therefore, follow-up mechanisms should be established that make possible the early detection of this type of disability.

[The Health, Well-Being, and Aging ("SABE") survey: methodology applied and profile of the study population]. / Encuesta Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento (SABE): metodología de la encuesta y perfil de la población estudiada.

This document outlines the methodology of the Salud, Bienestar y Envejecimiento (Health, Well-Being, and Aging) survey (known as the "SABE survey"), and it also summarizes the challenges that the rapid aging of the population in Latin America and the Caribbean imposes on society in general and especially on health services. The populations of the countries of Latin America and the Caribbean are aging at a rate that has not been seen in the developed world. The evaluation of health problems and disability among older adults in those countries indicates that those persons are aging with more functional limitations and worse health than is true for their counterparts in developed nations. In addition, family networks in Latin America and the Caribbean are changing rapidly and have less capacity to make up for the lack of protections provided by social institutions. The multicenter SABE study was developed with the objective of evaluating the state of health of older adults in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean: Bridgetown, Barbados; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Montevideo, Uruguay; Santiago, Chile; and São Paulo, Brazil. The SABE survey has established the starting point for systematic research on aging in urban areas of Latin America and the Caribbean. Comparative studies of these characteristics and with this comparative nature should be extended to other countries, areas, and regions of the world in order to expand the knowledge available on older adults.

Enfermedades cronicas y limitacion funcional en adultos mayores: estudio comparitivo en siete ciudades de America Latina y el Caribe / Chronic diseases and functional limitation in older adults: a comparative study in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean

OBJECTIVE. To identify the relationship between selected chronic diseases and the presence of disability in inhabitants 60 years old or older in seven cities of Latin America and the Caribbean. METHODS. In 2000 and 2001 a descriptive cross-sectional study was conducted with a sample of 10 891 persons 60 or older in seven cities: Bridgetown, Barbados; Buenos Aires, Argentina; Havana, Cuba; Mexico City, Mexico; Montevideo, Uruguay; Santiago, Chile; and Sao Paulo, Brazil. This research was part of the Salud, Bienstar y Envejecimiento (Health , Well-Being, and Aging) project (known as the "SABE project"). The dependent variables in the study were difficulty in performing basic activities of daily living, and difficulty in performing instrumental activities of daily living. Compiled from self-reports, the independent variables were : age, sex, educational level, living alone or with other person (s), self-assesed health, and the presence or not of hypertension, diabetes mellitus, cancer, chronic obstructive pilmonary disease, ischemic heart disease, cerebrovascular diseases, and osteoarthritis. The presence of depression and cognitive impairment in the participants was evaluated, and body mass index was also calculated. To compare the degree of influence of the different variables on disability, a standardized coefficient for each association was calculated. RESULTS. In the seven cities studied, the variables that showed a direct association with difficulty in carrying out basic activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living were: suffering from a higher number of noncommunicable diseases, from cerebrovascular diseases, from osteoarthritis, or from depression; being older; being female; rating one's own health as bad, and the presence of cerebrovascular diseases, osteoarthritis, or cognitive impairment. CONCLUSIONS. Our research provides the first systematized description of the associations between disability and chronic noncommunicable diseases in older adults in Latin America and the Caribbean. Difficulties that older adults have in carrying out instrumental activities of daily living are the first ones to appear. Therefore, follow-up mechanisms should be established that make possible the early detection of this disability (AU)