Cardiovascular Risk Factors in the Mexican Population

Abstract

Chronic degenerative disorders have become a major health problem in Mexico. Cardiovascular diseases represent the first cause of death in our country. Diabetes mellitus (DM) has emerged as the main health problem in Mexico. Its prevalence doubled from < 3% in the 1960s to 6% in the 1980s. Between 1993 and 2000, diabetes mellitus increased from 6.7% to 8.2%, a 22% growth over a seven-year period. In 1995, the cost of the treatment of DM represented 15.48% of the health budget and 0.79% of the GDP. The prevalence of hypertension (HTN) increased from 10% in 1933 to 20% in 1990 and from 23.8% to 30.7% between 1993 and 2000. The expenditures from HTN in 1999 corresponded to 13.9% of the health budget, and 0.71% of GDP.Dyslipidemias are very common. Close to 40% of the population has levels of HDL cholesterol < 35 mg/dL, 24.3% has fasting triglycerides > 200 mg/dL, and 10% has hypercholesterolemia. The prevalence of obesity increased from 21.4% in 1993, to 23.7% in the year 2000. Eight percent of the population has a glomerular filtration rate < 60 mL/min, and 9.1% has proteinuria. Twenty-four percent uses tobacco regularly, and 13% had the habit in the past. Smoking is more frequent among diabetics (34%).In conclusion, cardiovascular risks factors are highly common among the Mexican population and increasing at alarming rates. Preventive programs targeted to decrease their prevalence are urgently needed in Mexico and should become a national priority.

Disparities in Liver Cancer Incidence by Nativity, Acculturation, and Socioeconomic Status in California Hispanics and Asians

“…According to 2001 CHIS data, the prevalence of obesity among Hispanic adults generally coincided with liver cancer incidence patterns, with higher rates among US-born Hispanic men (27.7%; 95% CI: 25.0–30.3%) than foreign-born Hispanic men (21.1%; 95% CI: 19.1–23.1%), and higher rates among foreign-born Hispanic women (29.0%; 95% CI: 26.9–31.0%) than US-born Hispanic women (25.3%; 95% CI: 23.0–27.5%) (47). A higher prevalence of obesity among women and a lower prevalence among men in Mexico compared with those in California (54) may also contribute to international liver cancer incidence patterns in Hispanics. Among Asians, however, CHIS data on the prevalence of obesity did not correspond with liver cancer incidence patterns, with higher rates in US-born (12.9%; 95% CI: 7.5–18.3%) than foreign-born Asian men (4.9%; 3.3–6.5%), and slightly higher rates in US-born (5.4%; 2.9–8.0%) than foreign-born Asian women (3.7%; 2.6–4.8%) (47).…”

Improving the Management of Chronic Kidney Disease in Uruguay: A National Renal Healthcare Program

“…Nephrologists cannot care for all CKD patients, and the prevention and early detection of this disease requires a skilled, multidisciplinary primary care team and a coordinated approach [11]. In order to attain such care, different strategies have been published based on the healthcare system and the living standards of various countries [12,13,14,15,16,17,18,19,20,21,22,23,24,25]. …”

“…The general and specific objectives, implementation, main strategies for generalization and the preliminary results of the pilot program have recently been published [27]. The program was planned and designed by the Uruguayan Society of Nephrology [28] according to the Latin American Society of Nephrology and Hypertension [20,21,22,23,24,25,26,27,28,29,30] and the recommendations of the consensus workshops of the International Society of Nephrology [31], and is supported by the National Resource Fund and the Public Health Ministry.…”

Erectile dysfunction therapy in countries where implant is economically not feasible

“…An estimated 1.5 billion people are expected to suffer from hypertension worldwide and ED is twice as common in hypertensive patients compared to normal subjects (25). The prevalence of this disorder has increased to 30% in Mexico and it is responsible for 14% ($1.8 billion) of the countries total annual healthcare expenditure (26). Antihypertensive therapy (mainly thiazide diuretics, aldosterone antagonists and β-blockers) is also associated with this disorder and a detailed medical history should rule them out.…”