Contribuciones de la mortalidad cardiovascular a la esperanza de vida de la población española de 1980 a 2009

Introduction and objectives

This article describes the contribution of the decrease in cardiovascular mortality to the increase in life expectancy at birth in Spain from 1980 to 2009. We explain the demographic factors underlying the decrease in mortality from cardiovascular diseases at older ages and the effect of this decrease on lifespan.

Methods

The contribution of these decreases to Spanish life expectancy at birth was calculated using decomposition methods for life expectancy. We calculated standardized mortality rates by sex and 3 causes of death (cerebrovascular disease, ischemic heart disease, and other heart disease) for 3 age groups: 65 to 79 years, 80 to 89 years, and ≥90 years.

Results

From 1980 to 2009, life expectancy at birth in Spain increased by more than 6 years for both sexes. The contribution of the decrease in cardiovascular mortality to the total increase in life expectancy at birth was 63% among women and 53% among men. Among the ≥65-year-old age group, this contribution was 93% among women and 87% among men.

Conclusions

The decrease in cardiovascular mortality, mainly at older ages, has been the main contributor to increased Spanish life expectancy at birth during the last 3 decades.Full English text available from:www.revespcardiol.org/en     

Proyectos de apoyo a la gastroenterología desde la Organización Mundial de Gastroenterología

The World Gastroenterology Organisation (WGO; OMGE) is a federation of more than 100 national gastroenterology societies and four regional gastroenterology associations representing 50,000 individuals. This organization aims to promote knowledge of the global prevalence of digestive diseases among health professionals and the general public and to promote high-quality, accessible and independent health education and training programs, especially in emerging societies. The educational initiatives of the WGO include 15 Training Centers; Train the Trainers Workshops; an Outreach Program that facilitates the supply of equipment and materials; World Digestive Health Day; Global Guidelines with Cascade methodology, which is unique among guidelines; and the World Congress of Gastroenterology. The WGO Foundation is a philanthropic body dedicated to raising the funds required to support the ongoing WGO education initiatives and activities.     

Eficacia de la espectrometría de masas MALDI-TOF en la identificación de bacterias anaerobias

Aim of the study

MALDI-TOF mass spectrometry (MS) is becoming a major resource in the Clinical Microbiology laboratory. Results on some groups of microorganisms are still controversial. We have studied the reliability of MALDI-TOF MS for the identification of anaerobic clinical isolates was studied compared to conventional biochemical methods, with rRNA 16S sequencing being used as a reference when discrepancies arose.

Material and methods

A total of 126 anaerobic bacteria clinical isolates were studied by using API20A kits (bioMérieux, Marcy l’Étoile, France) and MALDI-TOF MS (Autoflex II, Bruker Daltonics, Germany), and using the data library BioTyper 2.0 (Bruker Daltonics, Germany). When discrepancies arose, or MALDI-TOF MS was not able to identify any microorganism, rRNA 16S sequencing was used as the reference standard.

Results

The biochemical method and MALDI-TOF MS agreed in identifying 60.9% of isolates at species level, and 20.3% of isolates at genus level. Among the 48 discrepancies observed, rRNA 16S sequencing supported MALDI-TOF MS identification, at species level, in 32 isolates (66.7%), and in 8 isolates (16.7%) at genus level. rRNA 16S sequencing supported biochemical identification in only two isolates (4.2%) at species level, and in 26 isolates (54.2%) at genus level. The eight isolates for which MALDI-TOF MS did not manage to identify, or the identification obtained was rejected by sequencing, belonged to species that are still not added to the BioTyper II data library.

Conclusions

Results obtained in this study show that, overall, MALDI-TOF MS identification of anaerobic bacteria is more reliable than identification obtained by conventional biochemical methods (24% more correct identifications at species level). The number of major errors (incorrect identification at the genus level) is also 2.5-times lower. Moreover, all the major errors obtained by MALDI-TOF MS were due to the absence of some species in the data library. Thus, when data libraries are more complete, reliability differences between both methods will probably be even higher.     

Epidemiología de la enfermedad coronaria

Understanding the societal impact and trends of coronary heart disease through basic epidemiological measures is essential to evaluate treatment effectiveness and organize resource distribution. In the following narrative review, data are presented on the prevalence, incidence, and prognosis of coronary heart disease in general and of acute coronary syndrome in particular.