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M A Barceló

Publications and source records attributed to M A Barceló.

7 recordsLinked to original sources
PubMed2003

[Ponderal evolution in the Girona population, 1989-1999].

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVE: Despite the number of plans leading to lose weight among individuals in the developed countries, the prevalence of obesity has increased since 1980. The knowledge of ponderal evolution in a given population is very important because the adverse effects of obesity vary greatly among individuals and populations. The objective of the present paper was to determine the modifications in the different degrees of body adiposity in a population in Catalunya. PATIENTS AND METHODS: A measurement was made of weight and height of 24554 users aged over 14 years (10595 males and 13959 females) attended at four basic health areas (BHA): Girona 1, Girona 4, Salt and Camprodon, and a Primary Health Center (PHC) in the Girona province, for a five-year period, 1995-1999. The prevalence of the different degrees of obesity was compared with that obtained in a previous study with 6373 individuals during the 1986-1989 period (4,579 males and 1794 females). RESULTS: The prevalence of women with overweight (defined as a body mass index [BMI] > 25 kg/m2) increased from 7.3% (1986-1989, study 0) to 17.6% (1995-1999, study 1) for women aged 15 to 24 years ( p < 0.001), from 17.9 % to 28.1% for women aged 25 to 34 years (p < 0.001), and from 37.5% to 44.7 % for women aged 35 to 44 years (p < 0.001). In the latter age group, the proportion of women with obesity (BMI > 30 kg/m2) increased from 6.9% to 12.9%. Similar trends were observed among men, and the change in the 35-44 year age group (from 10.5 % of obese men to 16% [p < 0.001]), and 55 to 65 years (from 16.6% of obese men to 22.7% [p < 0.001] was particularly significant. And lastly, it is also noteworthy the proportion of individuals with low weight (BMI < 18.5 kg/m2) which increased from 7.3% to 11.6% for women aged 15 to 24 years, and from 0.3% to 2.2% for women aged 35 to 44 years. This trend was also observed for men aged 15 to 24 years (11% to 17.2%). CONCLUSIONS: The relative increase in the prevalence of overweight and obesity runs in parallel to that found in other surrounding countries. Also, it is worth mentioning that among women aged 15 to 24 years the increase in the prevalence of low weight and obesity is almost identical, which invalidates the mean and median values as a means to assess the ponderal evolution in this population. The current compartmentalization between the extreme BMIs, particularly among the youngest portion of population should be addressed from a multidisciplinary perspective.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1998

Sex differences in mortality of people who visited emergency rooms for asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

We assess the sex differences in mortality in a population-based cohort of those Barcelona residents older than 14 yr of age who received emergency room services (ERS) for either chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) or asthma, during the period from 1985 to 1989. Vital status was followed to the end of 1995. A total of 15,517 individuals, 9,918 males and 5,599 females were included in the study. Asthma was diagnosed in 16% of males and 53% of females. Overall, 50% of males and 30% of females died during the follow-up period. The mortality rates in both males and females who visited emergency rooms for COPD or asthma were significantly higher than the expected rates in the general population. These relative increases in the mortality rates were significantly higher in females than in males for both causes of death, COPD (age-adjusted female/male ratio = 2.39), and asthma (ratio = 3.95). However, survival was better in females than males among individuals in the study. The higher fatality in males than females was observed for all causes of death, all respiratory causes, and COPD (risk ratio among patients with COPD = 0.42, 0.29-0.59, and among patients with asthma = 0.11, 0.02-0.60), but not for asthma. Mortality for asthma was higher in females with a diagnosis of COPD (2.79, 1.52-5.13), but it was not different among individuals in whom asthma was diagnosed (1.02, 0.56-1.87). Greater severity of COPD in males than in females could explain a higher risk of dying for all respiratory causes and COPD in males. The increased risk of asthma death in females may be due to problems of coding the term "asthma" in death certificates. The higher rates in females than in males when comparing with the general population, may be an expression of a greater similarity in risk factors, such as smoking, in our population than in males and females of the general population.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Risk factors for asthma in young adults. Spanish Group of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey.

We assessed the association of asthma prevalence in young adults with susceptibility factors and environmental exposures, taking into account the age at asthma onset. A random sample of the general population, aged 20-44 yrs, in five areas of Spain (Albacete, Barcelona, Galdakao, Huelva, and Oviedo) was selected in the frame of the European Community Respiratory Health Survey (ECRHS). Overall, 2,646 subjects (response rate = 60.9%) responded to a respiratory questionnaire and 1,797 (41.4%) finalized a bronchial challenge. Atopy to perennial (odds ratio (OR) = 10.2, 95% confidence interval 4.2-25) and seasonal allergens (11.5, 4.6-28), parental asthma (4.5, 2.5-8.4), and birth order (OR for no older siblings in comparison to having more than two = 3.2, 1.2-9.1) were associated with current asthma whatever the age of asthma onset. Past asthma was associated to a lesser extent with atopy (OR around 3.5 to both perennial and seasonal allergens). Lower respiratory tract infections before the age of 5 yrs (LRTI), having had a pet in childhood, and being born in a younger cohort were associated with asthma starting before the age of 15 yrs, but not after. Male gender was more frequent in childhood asthma and female gender in adulthood. In addition to the known risk factors of asthma (atopy to perennial allergens, parental asthma) we provide evidence for an association of asthma (whatever the age of onset) with sensitization to seasonal allergens, and having less than three older siblings; and for an association of childhood asthma with lower respiratory tract infections.

Adult↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[Time series methods in epidemiological studies on air pollution].

The time series methods in the epidemiological studies on air pollution are reviewed, illustrated by means of an autoregressive Poisson regression which was employed in the APHEA and EMECAM Projects. A listing is provided of the variations in the daily number of deaths of people over age 70 (all causes, CIE-9:001-799) in Barcelona, 1991-1995, with the average variations in the daily smog pollution levels. A Poisson regression is used insofar as the dependent random variable presumably follows such a probability distribution. As variable possibly leading to confusion, the impact of weather variables (daily temperature and relative humidity averages), seasonal, tendency-related behaviours and day of the year on the death rate are taken into account (all estimated on a determinist basis), in addition to any other variable which behaves in a way that it can be related to the dependent variable (i.e. flu epidemics). The relationship between the death rate and the confusing-causing variables is modelled on a non-linear basis, and the foreseeable lag times are also taken into account (i.e. by using explicative variable time lags). However, due to control not being perfect, it has been decided to opt for estimating an autoregressive Poisson model (adding in some different explicative variables time giving rise to a lag in the death rate) offsetting the residual autocorrelation. The main advantage of the method of analysis described above is that of making it possible to control confusing variables from a determinist standpoint with a software to which all of the groups taking part in this Project had access. This also affords the possibility of using this method in a set, standardized manner, facilitating the comparison of results and making an objective point analysis possible.

Age Factors↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The EMECAM protocol: an analysis of the short-term effect of air pollution on mortality. Estudio Multicéntrico Español sobre la Relación entre la Contaminación Atmosférica u la Mortalidad].

The aim of this study is to Mortality show the protocol of analysis which was set out as part of the EMECAM Project, illustrating the application thereof to the effect of pollution has on the mortality in the city of Valencia. The response variables considered will be the daily deaths rate resulting from all causes, except external ones. The explicative variables are the daily series of different pollutants (black smoke, SO2, NO2, CO, O3). As possible confusion variables, weather factors, structural factors and weekly cases of flu are taken into account. A Poisson regression model is built up for each one of the four deaths series in two stages. In the first stage, a baseline model is fitted using the possible confusion variables. In the second stage, the pollution variables or the time legs thereof are included, controlling the residual autocorrelation by including mortality time lags. The process of fitting the baseline model is as follows: 1) Include the significant sinusoidal terms up to the sixth order. 2) Include the significant temperature or temperature squared terms with the time lags thereof up to the 7th order. 3) Repeat this process with the relative humidity. 4) Add in the significant terms of calendar years, daily tendency and tendency squared. 5) The days of the week as dummy variables are always included in the model. 6) Include the holidays and the significant time lags of up to two weeks of flu. Following the reassessment of the model, each one of the pollutants and the time lags thereof up to the fifth order are proven out. The impact is analyzed by six-month periods, including interaction terms.

Air Pollution↗
PubMedDate not supplied

[The short-term effects of air pollution on mortality. The results of the EMECAM project in the city of Barcelona, 1991-1995. Estudio Multicéntrico Español sobre la Relación entre la Contaminación Atmosférica y la Mortalidad].

BACKGROUND: Most of the studies which demonstrate the existence of a short-term relationship between air pollution and morbidity and the Mortality analyze the impact of "classic" pollutants which are by-products of combustion. However, the changes in the sources of these emissions, shifting basically toward road traffic, has made a change in air pollution, heightening the importance of the photochemical components, such as ozone (O3) and nitrogen dioxide (NO2). Barcelona is a city located in a mild climate zone, and its air pollution comes mainly from vehicle emissions. The main objective of this article is that of analyzing the relationship between the photochemical pollutants, NO2 and O3 and the death rate for different causes in the city of Barcelona throughout the 1991-1995 period, using the procedure for analysis set out as part of the EMECAM Project. METHODS: Daily changes in the number of deaths resulting from all causes, of the number of deaths for all causes of those over age 70, of the number of deaths resulting from cardiovascular diseases, and of the number of deaths resulting from respiratory-related causes are related to the daily changes in the photochemical pollutants using autoregressive Poisson models, controlling confusion-causing variables such as the temperature, the relative humidity, the systematic time structure and the autoregressive structure. RESULTS: Except for the relationship between O3 and the mortality for causes involving respiratory diseases, the relationships between photochemical pollutants and the mortality for all the causes considered were statistically significant. The risks related to dying as a result of rises in O3 were greater than as a result of rises in NO2, almost triple among cardiovascular diseases. The risks related to dying for all the causes are lower than for specific causes and than for those individuals over age 70. The results of the analysis by six-month periods are quite similar to the overall results, revealing, in any event, relative risks somewhat greater during the warm months (May to October). CONCLUSIONS: Photochemical pollution, especially that which is caused by O3, comprises a health risk. In the case of NO2, this might not be more than an indicators of the suspended particles or of other pollutants stemming from city traffic. There may be a certain adjustment between six-month periods of the impact of O3 on the mortality for causes of the circulatory system.

Age Factors↗