Projected impact of diabetes on the Costa Rican healthcare system

The transcultural adaptation and validation of the Chinese version of the Oral Health Literacy Scale for Diabetic Patients

BACKGROUND

Diabetic patients' oral health concerns are a reality for every diabetic patient in China. The attitudes of diabetic patients toward early identification of oral literacy influence oral literacy in diabetes patients. Diabetes patients' oral health literacy is critical for providing focused education and therapies. However, no instrument exists to measure oral health literacy in Chinese diabetic patients. In this study, the English version of the oral health literacy among people living with diabetes (OHLD) scale was cross-culturally validated to provide a reliable tool for assessing the oral health literacy of diabetic patients in China.

OBJECTIVE

The oral literacy among people living with diabetes (OHLD) scale was Chineseized and its reliability and validity tested, and the OHLD scale was revised to test the reliability and validity of the Chinese version of the OHLD scale and to provide a tool for assessing the oral health literacy of diabetic patients in China.

METHODS

A modified version of the Brislin translation model was used, cross-cultural adaptation was performed through expert consultation and pre-survey, and expert opinion was used to assess content validity to form the Chinese version of the Oral Health Literacy Scale for Diabetic Patients, which was administered to 420 diabetic patients in two tertiary hospitals in Liaoning Province from March to August 2023. The reliability of the scale was tested. SPSS 25.0 and AMOS 23.0 were used to analyze the data.

RESULTS

The Chinese version of the OHLD scale consisted of three dimensions and 10 entries. Structure of the validity analysis: three factors were extracted from the exploratory factors with a cumulative variance contribution of 79.794%; Content validity results:An item's content validity index (I-CVI) was 0.857 to 1 at the entry level, and the content validity index of the scale (S-CVI) was 0.928 at the scale level. The results of the reliability analyses were: the Cronbach's alpha coefficient for the total scale was 0.908; the Cronbach's alpha coefficients for the factors and dimensions were 0.853 to 0.922; the split-half reliability was 0.827; and the test-retest reliability was 0.848. The results of the validation factor analysis showed that (χ2/df) was 1.430, the root mean square of the error of approximation (RMSEA) was 0.045, the comparative fit index (CFI) was 0.989, and the Tucker Lewis index (TLI) was 0.985, which showed that the model had an overall good fit.

CONCLUSION

The Chinese version of the OHLD scale has good reliability and validity and can be used as a valid tool for assessing diabetes mellitus patients in China.

Association between obesity and mortality in the Costa Rican elderly: a cohort study

Background

Costa Rica, along with other Latin American countries, is undergoing population aging, with an increase in the prevalence of chronic conditions, many of them resulting from a growing prevalence of obesity. As a result of the demographic and epidemiological transitions, the causes of morbidity and mortality have changed from communicable to non-communicable diseases. An increase in overweight and obesity is hypothesized to be related to premature mortality. This study assesses the association between obesity and both all-cause and cardiovascular mortality in a Costa Rican elderly population.

Methods

This is a secondary data analysis of the Costa Rican Longevity and Healthy Aging Study (CRELES, for its Spanish acronym), a longitudinal nationally representative cohort study of health and life-course experiences of the Costa Rican elderly. A baseline (n = 2827) and two subsequent 2-year follow-up interviews were conducted. Data analyses include descriptive statistics and survival models. Cox and Gompertz distributions were used to model general mortality and cardiovascular mortality as a function of obesity and controlling for confounders. Anthropometric measures used were Body Mass Index (BMI) and Waist Circumference (WC).

Results

Each one-unit increment in BMI was significantly associated to a 3,1% (p < 0.001) and 2,6% (p = 0.021) increment in general and cardiovascular mortality respectively. Each one-unit increment in WC was significantly associated with a 0,8% (p = 0.006) increment in general mortality, whereas WC was not significantly associated with cardiovascular mortality.

Conclusions

Obesity is associated with mortality in the Costa Rican elderly. This association is strongest between obesity and all-cause mortality. As general obesity increases, all-cause and cardiovascular mortality also increase in this population. Similarly, as central obesity increases, all-cause mortality increases. Policies aimed at preventing obesity and chronic conditions are warranted for a better survival in this population.

Understanding inequities in health and health systems in Latin America and the Caribbean: a thematic series

Latin America, with its culturally and ethnically diverse populations, its burgeoning economies, high levels of violence, growing political instability, and its striking levels of inequality, is a region that is difficult to define and to understand. The region’s health systems are deeply fragmented and segmented, which poses great challenges related to the provision of quality of care and overall equity levels in health and in Latin American society at large. Market, social, and political forces continue to push towards the poorly regulated privatization of public health care in many countries within the region, in detriment of public healthcare services where management capacities are limited.

In this first collection of papers, we showcase how the region has tackled, with different levels of success, the incorporation of innovative health system reforms aimed at strengthening governance, participation, and the response to the growing epidemiological and demographic demands of its diverse population. We are delighted that this Special Collection will remain open to house future papers from Latin America and the Caribbean. The region has important experiences and lessons to share with the world. We look forward to learning more about how researchers and practitioners continue to experiment and innovate in their struggle to reach equity in health for all. This thematic series is a platform where the region’s lessons and approaches can be shared with the global community of Health Policy and Systems Researchers.

Changes in diabetes mortality rate in Costa Rica 2007-2017

AIM

Diabetes mellitus is a major health problem in Costa Rica. Its prevalence is increasing and represents a significant burden.

OBJECTIVES

To determine specific diabetes mortality rates (SDMR) in Costa Rica from 2007 to 2017 and explore it's potential causes.

METHODS

Death certificates (classification CIE-10) were obtained from the Instituto Nacional de Estadística y Censos. All-cause mortality, SDMR, ischemic heart disease (IHD), cerebrovascular disease (CVD), and peripheral vascular disease mortality were assessed per year, sex, age and province. We evaluated relationships between SDMR and Index of Human Development (IHUD), performed a multivariate regression negative binomial model analysis and compared SDMR with goals of metabolic control in the primary care setting.

RESULTS

All-cause mortality and SDMR increased while IHD and CVD mortality rates remained invariable. SDMR was higher in females and in provinces with predominant rural areas. The years of observation, sex, age and province were significant predictors of death at a 5% level in people with diabetes. Reports from primary care setting showed inadequeate public health care coverage and insuficient metabolic control.

CONCLUSIONS

SDMR increased in elderly patients with specific complications. Age, place of residence and sex predicted SDMR. Unsatisfactory diabetes medical coverage and poorly diabetes management likely explain our findings.