injuries are classified as either unintentional or intentional."l
injury data in chile are constrained by the poor quality of death certification in terms of
specifying types of trauma and poisons causing death, possible biases in hospital discharge
statistics, and exclusion from police statistics of all deaths caused by injuries which occuffed
after accidents. iho codes for all injuries under the icd9 are in chapter xvii. the age-specific mortality rate from injuries in chile is
comparable to the rates in brazil (63. |
| of all injuries in chile, the principle cause of mortality is traffic accidents, with an age-
adjusted mortality rate of 7. the second leading cause of
injury deaths in chile are suicides with an age-adjusted mortality rate of 5. men are more prone to injuries than "omen in chile, particularly from traffic
accidents, drowning, suicides, and homicides. |
| the disparity between the sexes has become
even greater in the last 30 years. the occurrence of injuries has
been much higher in regions which are predominantly agricultural and rural, such as
o'higgins, maule, bio-bio, araucania, and los lagos, probably due to lack of or limited
safety measures affecting housing, labor, and transportation. among the specific causes of injury deaths there has
been a remarkable reduction in the age-adjusted mortality rate for asphyxiation and drowning
from 14. as shown elsewhere, the increase in child injuries may be
due to the greater availability of household electrical appliances, which are potential causes
of household injuries, particularly in crowded living spaces, and poor supervision of children
that may result from the increasing number of mothers who w-ork outside the home and the
limited availability of child care centers for low socioeconomic groups. |
dises
contrml priorities in developing countries. historical
trends, however, have to be interpreted with caution because they are likely to be influenced
by changing criteria for reporting accidents to the police. buses are most often involved in
traffic accidents as measured by crashes per vehicle. traffic accidents are more prevalent in
more urbanized regions. however, these tend to be minor accidents as compared to those in
rural locations, where the rate of injury and death per accident are higher, mainly due to
high speed driving on highways and bicycle riders being overrun by motor vehicles. the increase in traffic accidents may be attributed in great part to the sharp increase
in the overall number of vehicles in chile, particularly since the latter part of the 1970's. in addition, the category "not obeying
traffic laws" is not specific enough for analysis. there are also few alcohol- and speed-
related accidents listed; this is questionable, particularly in view of data from the
metropolitan region legal medical service which indicate that during the 1980's between
one-third and one-half of all fatal traffic accidents, suicides, and homicides in santlago were
associated with eccessive alcohol intake. |
| although there are no reliable data, it is assumed
that a similar proportion of drowning and fatal bum accidents are related to alcohol abuse. the average hospital length of stay is highest for bum
victims (15. copd is a family of diseases whose main characteristic is the obstruction of air flow
to the lungs because of resistance in the air passages or a loss of lung elasticity. chronic
bronchitis and emphysema are included in this group of diseases, but bronchial asthma is
not.'3 the principal risk factors in copd are smoking (by far the most important),
pollution (which acts as an exacerbating factor), and some occupational exposure. in the
natural history of copd there is a lapse of 20 to 40 years from the appearance of the first
symptoms to respiratory insufficiency and death, which means that actions on risk factors
take years to exert their effect. in chile, mortality due to copd has risen in the last few decades, a worrisome trend
which signals the need for preventive measures to combat the disease, particularly for
controlling modifiable risks such as smoking. |
| among the chilean adult population, it is
estimated that 78 percent of copd in men and 72 percent of copd in women can be
attributed to smoking. figure a-13 shows the age-adjusted rates for
mortality due to copd among the adult population, where an increase is observed in the last
30 years from 4. mortality rates in men due to copd are 1.6 times higher than in women and progress
with age, particularly after the age of 55 years, reflecting a longer and hevier smolkng
13. tie codes for copd under the icd9 are in chapter vm. mortality rates in men due to copd are 1.6 times higher than in women and progress
with age, particularly after the age of 55 years, reflecting a longer and heavier smoking
experience among men. there seems to be an inverse relationship between socioeconomic
status and copd. although information on risk factors for copd in chile is scarce, some
studies do permit inferences for the relationship between copd and environmental
contamination. |
| for example, one epidemiological study showed a relatively higher risk for
irritative lung disease, bronchial obstruction, and pneumonia in santiago, a city with high
contamrination levels as compared with los andes, a city with low environmental
contamination.14 also, there is a documented relationship between certain occupations and
copd, such as miners and those working in the chemical industry, metal foundries, and
glass and ceramic industries. |
| since copd patients cannot be cured, this condition contributes significantly to the
disability burden of the country, particularly among the older age groups. treatment can
only relieve the symptoms and improve the quality of life of the patient. this trend may be
explained by improved outpatient care, including home care. most hospitalizations are of
individuals older than 55 years of age. estudio apidemiol6gico sobre oicto do la contamincin
atmosfdrica. informe pars la bintndencia regional metropolitana do santiago. prevalencia de bronquitis cr6nica en residentes do la provincia el
loa, ii region, chile. tesis pars optar al grado do magister en salud pdblica. escudla do
salud pdblica, universidad de chile. diabetes is group of that in high blood sugar levels due to
absolute or insulin deficiency."7 insulin dependent diabetes mellitus (iddm) or
type i, which may appear at age, is most frequently in and young adults
( < 30 years of ) and requires injection of ; its most common cause is
destruction of cells. the most common form of is -insulin dependent
diabetes mellitus (niddm), which usually appears after age 40 and is associated
with obesity and genetic factors and modem lifestyles like life, dietary factors such
as an of carbohydrates, and stress.. .. |
| achmed zaoie |