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A Cabrera de León

Publications and source records attributed to A Cabrera de León.

13 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2005

Smoking and sickness absence among public health workers.

BACKGROUND: As well as causing sickness and death, smoking has high socio-economic costs. The aim of this paper was to examine how closely smoking is associated with sickness absence among healthcare workers. SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Cases and controls were paired by age, gender and occupation among primary healthcare workers in Tenerife, Canary Islands, Spain. Cases were selected from workers that had been absent from work due to sickness for 1 or more days in an entire year, regardless of the cause. Controls were those workers who were not absent due to sickness over the same period. Tobacco consumption was verified by telephone poll. Matched pairs analysis was performed. RESULTS: Among the 292 cases, 40% were smokers, compared with 31% of controls [odds ratio (OR)=1.51, 95% confidence intervals (CI)=1.06-2.14]. The association between smoking and sickness absence was stronger in those aged 30-45 years (OR=1.60, 95%CI=1.04-2.44) and among nurses (OR=2.08, 95%CI=1.05-4.14). When the cause of sickness absence was a respiratory disease, no association was found with smoking. However, an association was found with back pain (OR=5, 95%CI=1.45-17.27). Duration of tobacco consumption was higher in cases (a) when only current smokers were considered (P=0.002), and (b) when including the smoking duration of former smokers (P=0.0004). CONCLUSIONS: Smoking is associated with a higher risk of sickness absence among healthcare workers, particularly due to back pain. This could be used as an incentive to persuade healthcare workers to stop smoking and re-inforce the non-smoking message given to their patients.

Absenteeism↗
PubMed2004

A tale of aborigines, conquerors and slaves: Alu insertion polymorphisms and the peopling of Canary Islands.

Classical, mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and Y chromosome markers have been used to examine the genetic admixture in present day inhabitants of the Canary Islands. In this study, we report the analysis of ten autosomal Alu insertion polymorphisms in 364 samples from the seven main islands of the Archipelago, and their comparison to continental samples. The detection of population-specific alleles from the Iberian Peninsula and Northwest Africa, as well as their affinities on the basis of genetic distances and principal component analysis, support a clear link between these populations. Coincident with previous results, the Canarian gene pool can be distinguished as being halfway between those of its putative parents, although with a major Iberian contribution (62-78%). Both the substantial Northwest African contribution (23-38%), and the minor sub-Saharan African input (3%), suggest that the genetic legacy from the aborigines and slaves still persists in the Canary Islanders.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1995

[Maternal participation to improve the effectiveness of diet education in children].

OBJECTIVE: To find out whether dietetic education in children improve its effectiveness with participation of mothers. DESIGN: We made a field try. SETTING: Two primary schools in Taco (La Laguna). SUBJECTS: We included every students who was in 7.o course in both schools (139 children). INTERVENTION: We assigned the children of one school to the educative intervention with mothers and the other school to the dietetic education without mothers. The intervention consist of four lectures about the fat food and the good feed. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: We measured the dietetic knowledge with a questionnaire. And we made two plasmatic analysis to measure the lipidemia pre and postintervention. We excluded unauthorized children and those with more than one absence in our four classes. Both children groups showed a significative improvement in their knowledge (p < 0.05). The cholesterolaemia only decreased in the group with mothers (p = 0.01). It had a pradoxical diminishment of cholesterol HDL at the beginning was greater than 170 mg/dl, the reduction was more important yet in the group with mothers. CONCLUSIONS: The dietetic education can have variations in its effectiveness according the method employed and people who receive it. In the dietetic education of children the inclusion of mothers improve its effectiveness.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1994

[Accessibility to hospital pediatrics emergencies: distance and diagnostic resources].

OBJECTIVE: To study the justification of paediatric consultations in the hospital emergency services in line with the diagnosis, the need for further tests not available in primary care (PC), the need for admission or observation and the distance between home and casualty. DESIGN: A descriptive study assessing 2,906 emergency records forms. We used the chi-squared test for the statistical analysis. The extent of the associations was calculated using the odds ratio (OR) calculation. SETTING: Casualty department in the Nuestra Señora de Candelaria Hospital in Santa Cruz de Tenerife. PATIENTS AND OTHER PARTICIPANTS: Those patients between 0 and 14 attended at the casualty department. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: The 80% of the patients lived closer than 10 kilometres to the hospital. The 39.8% attended because of a trauma. The 55% of attendances were considered unjustified. The fact that 70% of the traumatic injuries required an X-Ray (OR = 7) led to our establishing significant differences (p < 0.0001) between the proportion of justified consultations caused by trauma and by other reasons. The consultations by patients who lived over 10 km from the hospital were significantly more justified (p < 0.0001). CONCLUSIONS: The absence of radiological facilities in primary care emergency services means that patients with traumatic injuries have to attend hospital despite the triviality of the great majority of cases. Closeness to hospital facilities causes not only greater use of these, but a greater number of unjustified attendances.

Child↗
PubMed1994

[Smoking habit among workers of the public health system in Tenerife].

OBJECTIVE: To find the prevalence of tobacco use among workers in the Public Health system and to assess their own attitudes to the possibility of giving up smoking. DESIGN: A descriptive study of a crossover type was carried out using a self-filled closed-answer questionnaire. SETTING: The Public Health system on the island of Tenerife. PARTICIPANTS: After stratified random sampling, a sample of 1,282 workers was obtained, of whom 770 (60%) answered the questionnaire. Later a reply was obtained from 10% of those who did not at first reply, without any differences from the other participants being apparent. MEASUREMENTS AND MAIN RESULTS: Overall prevalence is 43% of smokers, 13% ex-smokers and 44% non-smokers. 20% of the smokers have an important physical dependency and only 30.76% are highly motivated to stop smoking. 56% of smokers feel home pressure to stop smoking, while only 29.5% of smokers feel pressured at work. We elaborated a scale, which was useful in measuring peoples' motivation to abandon the habit. CONCLUSIONS: Almost half these workers are smokers at present. Despite belonging to the Health system, they are no more motivated than the general population they look after.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

[Evaluation of a program: cost/benefit analysis].

The authors evaluate a program of peripheral obtention of analytical samples during a 37-month period in the Granada province, which it has been able to extend to 40.44% of the population. An analysis of the cost/benefit ratio and the efficacy in the implantation of the program (77.78%) during that period was carried out. The results were compared with those achieved with this program in other Spanish provinces. Finally, an indicator was proposed (expected mean number of users per 1000 inhabitants and month) which might permit to know in advance the effectiveness of the implantation of the Program in a given area.

Cost-Benefit Analysis↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Cigarette smoking among adolescents. Estimated prevalence by a questionnaire and serum cotinine].

BACKGROUND: The tobacco smoking epidemic is causing more deaths than anyone before. Young population is the main aim of tobacco advertisements. We estimated the prevalence of tobacco use among adolescents and their environment, the agreement of questionnaire and serum cotinine and the total prevalence of exposure (active plus pasive). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: Cross-sectional study in 439 highschool students. We obtained a blood sample and anonimously inquired about their tobacco consumption and the existence of smokers in their environment. We analized the agreement between both methods. RESULTS: 56% have ever smoked tobacco. Declared prevalence of consumption was 34% (CI95%= 29.49-38.51), being 40% among girls and 23% among boys. The agreement between cotinine and declaration was high only in voluntary smokers (Kappa = 0.68 for 1 o more cigarettes/day and Kappa = 0.76 for 10 or more cigarettes/day). Smoking prevalence of the famliy, friends and school among smokers was higher (80%, 71% and 88%, respectively) than among non smokers (65%, 24% and 78%). Combining questionnaire and cotinine it was estimated that total prevalence of exposure was larger than 64%. CONCLUSIONS: The high prevalence of exposure and the asociation of tobacco smoking among adolescents and their environment demands an educational program against tobacco including family, social and school environments. The agreement between declaration and serum cotinine is high only when consumption is daily.

Adolescent↗