Search PubMed⌕ Search

SEARCH · Search PubMed

Results for “PUERTO RICO”

Search indexed PubMed citations on genomics, clinical trials, systematic reviews and public health. Explore titles, authors and supplied subject terms, then open the PubMed record.

Quote a phrase for an exact phrase match. Source license links do not imply unrestricted reuse.

At least 199 records · Page 11Linked to original sources
PubMed2006

Concentrations of Ni and V, other heavy metals, arsenic, elemental and organic carbon in atmospheric fine particles (PM2.5) from Puerto Rico.

Fine atmospheric particulate PM2.5 (particles with diameters of < 2.5 microm) were sampled in an urban industrialized area--Guaynabo, Puerto Rico (Figure 1)--and in a reference less polluted site Fajardo, Puerto Rico--and analyzed for trace metals, and inorganic and organic elemental carbon. PM2.5 samples were collected from November 2000 to September 2001 using an Andersen Instruments RAAS2.5-400 for periods of 72 h. Metals analyzed were arsenic (As), cadmium (Cd), copper (Cu), iron (Fe), nickel (Ni), lead (Pb), vanadium (V) and zinc (Zn) by atomic absorption. Levels of elemental and organic carbon (EC/OC) were also determined. All metals analyzed, except for Fe, were significantly higher in PM2.5 from Guaynabo when compared to Fajardo. Average levels of PM2.5 in Guaynabo were 11.6 versus 8.5 microg/m3 in Fajardo. Average levels of EC were 1.5 and <0.14 microg/m3; and OC levels were 2.2 and < 1 microg/m3 for Guaynabo and Fajardo, respectively. Levels of Ni (17 ng/m3) and V (40 ng/m3) determined in PM2.5 from the Guaynabo area were high when compared to other cities, and these metals could be responsible for respiratory problems reported in the area. Multivariate analyses showed strong relationships in Guaynabo between Ni and V, PM2.5 and Fe and As and Cu and Pb. In Fajardo, the strongest associations were obtained between PM2.5 and Fe, Cd and V and Ni and Pb and Cu, these last three elements exhibiting an inverse relationship.

Air Pollution↗
PubMed1986

Cleft lip and palate in Puerto Rico: A thirty-three year study.

Nine hundred and eighty-eight cleft patients born between 1950 and 1983 were registered in the Cleft Palate Clinic file at the University Pediatric Hospital, Medical Sciences Campus, University of Puerto Rico. The entire cleft population was studied to establish relationships among place of birth, sex, age, type of cleft, severity of cleft involvement, and lip side preference and to determine prevalence. The distribution of registered cleft patients by geographic region in Puerto Rico was similar to the distribution of the total population. Cleft patients occurred most frequently in the Northeast regions which have the greatest population density in the Island. Among the 988 cleft patients who were studied, the sex ratio (males to females) was slightly higher than one (1.06). This ratio was found to be similar to the sex ratio for births in Puerto Rico. The sex ratio varied among the different types of clefts: unilateral cleft lip and palate had the highest male to female sex ratio (1.7) and cleft palate alone had the lowest (0.6). Unilateral clefts of the primary and secondary palates were more common than bilateral clefts by a two-to-one ratio. Left sided cleft was more common than right sided cleft in unilateral cleft of the primary palate alone or combined with cleft of the secondary palate. A significant increase in prevalence of the cleft defect per year was observed until 1971. For all types of clefts the increased rate per year was 2.10 per hundred thousand.

Cleft Lip↗
PubMed1991

Maternal mortality surveillance--Puerto Rico, 1989.

Maternal mortality is substantially underreported in the United States and throughout the world. In Puerto Rico, the 1989 revised death certificate contained a new item that asked whether a decedent had been pregnant within the past year. This information enabled a panel of experts to identify and review all death certificates for females aged 10-49 years who had been pregnant within 1 year before death. This report describes how the new item on the birth certificate can be used to improve maternal mortality surveillance in Puerto Rico.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2005

Seroprevalence of hepatitis C virus and associated risk behaviours: a population-based study in San Juan, Puerto Rico.

BACKGROUND: Limited information about the epidemiology of hepatitis C virus (HCV) infection is available in Puerto Rico, one of the areas hardest hit by the human immunodeficiency virus/acquired immune deficiency syndrome (HIV/AIDS) epidemic. We estimated the prevalence of HCV infection and identified correlates of seropositivity in the municipality of San Juan, Puerto Rico. METHODS: A probability cluster design was employed to select a sample of households representative of the population aged 21-64 years in San Juan during 2001-2002. All 964 subjects completed a face-to-face interview to gather data on demographics and self-reported risk behaviours followed by venipuncture for HCV antibody testing. Variables that were at least marginally associated with HCV seroprevalence (P < 0.10) in the bivariate analyses were considered for inclusion into the multiple logistic regression model to estimate the adjusted prevalence odds ratio (POR). RESULTS: Overall weighted prevalence of HCV infection was 6.3% (95% CI 3.6-10.9%). A significant (P < 0.05) higher prevalence was observed among subjects with the following characteristics: age 30-49 (9.5%), male sex (10.6%), < or =12 years of education (9.6%), no health coverage (12.6%), lifetime heroin use (39.2%), lifetime cocaine use (39.6%), tattooing practices (34.2%), history of imprisonment (32.8%), and self-reported histories of hepatitis B virus infection (30.4%) and HIV/AIDS (92.1%). Multivariate logistic regression revealed that tattooing practices (POR = 8.9; 95% CI 1.7-44.7), lifetime cocaine use (POR = 5.5; 95% CI 2.2-13.5), blood transfusions prior to 1992 (POR = 4.0; 95% CI 1.6-10.1), lifetime heroin use (POR = 3.3; 95% CI 1.4-7.8), and history of imprisonment (POR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.1-4.9) remained significantly associated with HCV seropositivity. CONCLUSIONS: The large prevalence of HCV infection observed in Puerto Rican adults residing in San Juan suggest that HCV infection is an emerging public health concern and merits further investigation.

Adult↗
PubMed2005

Factors associated with drug treatment dropout among injection drug users in Puerto Rico.

This study examined factors associated with drug treatment dropout among injection drug users (IDUs) in Puerto Rico, a group that has contributed significantly to the self-sustaining AIDS epidemic in the island since the mid-1980s. A total of 557 IDUs were recruited from communities in a semirural region of Puerto Rico, as part of a longitudinal study testing the efficacy of a two-facet intervention model, based on motivational interviewing. Of 124 IDUs who had entered drug treatment at follow-up, 33 (26.6%) dropped out before completing all recommended sessions. Multiple logistic regression analysis showed that age, homelessness, and speedball use were significantly associated with drug treatment dropout. Conversely, participants who received the two-facet intervention were significantly less likely to drop out of drug treatment. Receiving psychiatric services also reduced the odds of treatment dropout. Improving adherence to drug treatment and reducing dropout rates are complex processes that need to be addressed at the individual behavioral and social support levels, as well as the program process and resource levels.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1988

Urban-rural differences in 12 year coronary heart disease mortality: the Puerto Rico Heart Health Program.

Preliminary observations of the Puerto Rican population in 1965 indicated that the coronary heart disease mortality rate was lower than in the U.S., and that the rate in rural areas might be less than urban ones because of lower levels of cardiovascular risk factors. This prompted a prospective investigation of 8793 urban and rural men, aged 45-64 years. A 12-year mortality study has been completed with almost total follow-up. After excluding those with known coronary heart disease at baseline, age-adjusted rates for coronary heart disease, sudden, and stroke death are 19-37% higher in urban than rural men. Urban men had higher average blood pressure, cholesterol, glucose, and heart rate and were less physically active than rural men. When urban-rural differences for the known risk factors, including education and alcohol intake, are adjusted for by multivariate logistic regression analysis, no remaining significant urban-rural coronary heart disease mortality differential is present. Thus, it appears that variation in identified risk factors could explain the difference in mortality within Puerto Rico. The presence of unidentified protective factors cannot be excluded.

Adult↗
PubMed2000

Characteristics of cancer patients under age 20 at a population-based registry, Puerto Rico, 1980-1991.

OBJECTIVES: To evaluate and describe the characteristics and incidence of pediatric (< 20 years) cancer in Puerto Rico between 1980-1991. METHODS: A descriptive study of all new childhood cancer cases among residents of Puerto Rico reported to the Cancer Registry between the years 1980 and 1991 was conducted. The distribution of cases was described by age, gender, place of residence, histology, last date known to be alive, and stage of disease. Incidence rates and standardized incidence rates by age were calculated. RESULTS: A total of 1,823 new pediatric cases were reported from 1980 through 1991. Over half were males, and 52.2% were aged < 10 years. Most cases resided in urban areas. The most frequent histologic types were leukemia (31.0%), lymphomas and other reticulo-endothelial neoplasms (16.2%), and brain, central nervous system, and intracranial and intraspinal neoplasms (16.0%). The most frequent type of tumor was acute lymphocytic leukemia (22.0%). Although the overall distribution of most neoplasms was similar between genders, a higher proportion of lymphomas was reported among males, and there were significantly more carcinomas among girls. The largest increase in the age-adjusted incidence rate between periods (1980-84 and 1985-89) occurred in the 5-9 age group. CONCLUSIONS: Overall, these findings are consistent with previous studies in USA. However, there were some differences in the distribution of histologic types when compared with similar studies in other countries, and with the results of the National Cancer Institute's Surveillance, Epidemiology and End Results (SEER) Program. Factors such as differences in diagnostic capabilities among countries must be taken into consideration.

Adolescent↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Heart transplantation in females: the experience in Puerto Rico.

BACKGROUND: Heart transplantation is the procedure of choice for a selected group of patients with end stage heart disease. Gender related differences have been observed in the heart transplant field: less women than men are recipients of heart transplants, more risk of rejection in female recipients, and a perception toward reduced survival in women. We report our experience of heart transplantation in females in Puerto Rico. METHODS: We studied the data bank of 69 heart transplant recipients in the Puerto Rico Heart Transplant Program from June 1999 to June 2005. Gender related differences in the number of recipients: males or females, incidence of rejection, survival, and other outcomes were analyzed. RESULTS: 69 patients received an orthotopic heart transplant from June 1999 to June 2005, in a single center in Puerto Rico. The mean age of the patients was 47 (11-62) years. Fifty patients (72%) were men, and 19 patients (28%), were women. Survival in the female group at 3 months, 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 years was 100%, 100%, 100%, 100%, 90%, and 90% respectively. The survival in the male group at 3 months, 1, 2, 3, 4 and 5 years was 97%, 97%, 97%, 94%, 86 and 79% respectively. There was an early, higher incidence of rejection in women during the first three months post transplant; 1.5 vs. 0.75, (P=0.04) episodes per patient in the female, and male group respectively. After the third month post transplant there was no significant difference in rejection incidence. The incidence of infectious episodes was significantly more frequent in female than in male recipients, 2.8 vs. 1 (P=0.02) per patient respectively. CONCLUSIONS: There were more male than female heart transplant recipients at a ratio of 3:1, without a significant gender difference in survival. The risk of rejection was higher in females in the early period post transplantation, but thereafter this risk showed no signinificant statistical difference. The incidence of infection was more frequent in female than in male recipients.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1997

Cesarean childbirth in Puerto Rico: the facts.

According to the last Island-wide survey carried out in 1982 in Puerto Rico, the cesarean rate for the trienium of 1980-82 was estimated in 27 percent. Since 1989, an item about the type of delivery has been included in the live birth certificate. These data indicate that the incidence of cesarean deliveries continued to increase and by 1994 it amounted to 31 percent, undoubtedly the highest rate of the world. However, its fluctuation since 1990 suggests that this type of delivery has finally steadied in Puerto Rico. The high proportion of repeated cesareans and the low percentage of vaginal birth after cesarean (VBAC) deliveries were important factors contributing to the overall rate. Unexpectedly high risk mothers such as, adolescents, unwed and those of the lower socioeconomic status had highest cesarean rates than their encounterparts. Similarly, mothers who had the most adequate prenatal care had the highest percentages of surgical deliveries. In spite of dealing with a selected clientele, the cesarean rate in private hospitals was more than twice that of public institutions. In fact, a multiple correlation analysis demonstrate that the type of hospital of delivery was the most important correlate of a cesarean.

Adolescent↗
PubMed1993

Epidemiological study of tinea capitis in Puerto Rico.

Two separate studies were carried out to determine the dermatophytes responsible for tinea capitis in Puerto Rico. A retrospective study to determine those agents during the period between 1979 and 1989 revealed a total of 36 mycologically positive cases. The causative organisms consisted of the following species: M. canis, 14 cases (38.9%); T. mentagrophytes, 7 cases (19.4%); T. rubrum, 7 cases (19.4%); M. gypseum, 5 cases (13.9%); and T. tonsurans, T. verrucosum, unclassified Microsporum species, 1 case each (2.8% each). In a prospective study, fungal cultures were obtained from the scalps of 95 randomly selected children (45 males, 50 females) seen at the outpatient dermatology clinics of the Medical Sciences Campus of the University of Puerto Rico for a variety of skin problems but with no symptoms or signs of disease. One culture was positive for M. canis. All other cultures were negative. The significance of these findings is discussed as well as their relation to the incidence of T. tonsurans scalp infections in the Unites States.

Adolescent↗
PubMed2000

Using DNA fingerprinting to detect transmission of Mycobacterium tuberculosis among AIDS patients in two health-care facilities in Puerto Rico.

BACKGROUND: Fourteen cases of tuberculosis (TB) in Puerto Rico, diagnosed from April 1993 to April 1995, had the same DNA fingerprint, documenting disease caused by the same strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. The 14 cases were retrospectively investigated for epidemiologic links. METHODS: Records were reviewed and staffs of the TB program, hospital/clinic, and AIDS residential facilities were interviewed. RESULTS: Half of the AIDS cases were epidemiologically related, providing evidence of TB transmission in an emergency department, an AIDS inpatient ward, and an AIDS residential facility. DNA fingerprinting allowed detection of M tuberculosis transmission, but contact investigators could have documented it sooner. Factors contributing to transmission included delayed diagnosis, prolonged infectiousness, inadequate discharge planning and infection control procedures, and poor communication between health-care facilities. CONCLUSIONS: The numbers of AIDS residential facilities are increasing and must understand proper monitoring of TB patients and infection control measures that prevent transmissions.

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed2003

Sugarcane farming, occupational solvent exposures, and the risk of oral cancer in Puerto Rico.

The work history information from a population-based case-control study conducted in Puerto Rico was analyzed using a job exposure matrix to investigate the relationship between occupational exposures and cancers of the oral cavity or pharynx. After adjustment for age, alcohol, smoking, and residence in a logistic model, the risk for cancer of the oral cavity, but not the pharynx, was significantly elevated among farm workers in the sugarcane industry (OR = 4.4, 95% CI = 1.4-13.6). An exposure-response trend was seen for cumulative exposure to solvents, with an OR = 3.2 (95% CI = 0.8-12.6) in the highest exposure category. The overall contribution to the risk of cancer of the oral cavity or pharynx associated with occupational exposures in Puerto Rico appears to be small, however, the elevated risks were seen among sugarcane farmers and subjects with high cumulative exposure to solvents.

Adult↗
PubMed1989

The public controversies of AIDS in Puerto Rico.

All articles using the word 'AIDS' that have appeared in the five major daily newspapers in Puerto Rico since 1982 were studied to analyze the way in which AIDS has been presented in the daily press. Virtually all of the articles regarding AIDS, at least those pertaining to Puerto Rico, presented controversies. These were of two kinds. Articles regarding prevalence, incidence, and sources of funding were presented as controversies between the two main political parties of the island. They can be considered extensions of other political arguments between the parties. Those regarding risk factors, prevention, and treatment were presented as controversies between representatives of the people, such as union leaders, and government officials. The victims of AIDS, the homosexuals, drug addicts and hemophiliacs, were generally left out of the controversies as participants. The controversies are generally nonmedical and nonscientific, suggesting that the public perceives insufficient interest on the part of medical and political leaders and is expropriating the problem. That the proposed solutions are directed more toward the victims than the causative organims is also characteristics of past epidemics.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMedDate not supplied

Completeness of tuberculosis case reporting, San Juan and Caguas Regions, Puerto Rico, 1992.

Completeness of tuberculosis case reporting in Puerto Rico was assessed. Cases diagnosed among hospitalized, tuberculosis, and human immunodeficiency virus clinic patients during 1992 were retrospectively reviewed. Hospital discharge diagnoses, pharmacy listings of patients receiving anti-tuberculous medications, laboratory and acquired immunodeficiency syndrome registry data were used for case finding in selected hospitals and clinics. Identified cases were matched to the health department TB case registry to determine previous reporting through routine surveillance. Records of unreported cases were reviewed to verify tuberculosis diagnoses. Of 159 patients with tuberculosis, 31 (19.5%) were unreported. A case was defined according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention definition. Unreported cases were less likely than previously reported cases to have specimens that were culture positive for M. tuberculosis, 14 of 31 (45.2%) compared with 111 of 128 (86.7%). Excluding the laboratory, tuberculosis diagnoses in acquired immunodeficiency syndrome registry patients had the highest predictive value of finding tuberculosis (94.1%), followed by tuberculosis clinic records (71.7%), and pharmacy listings (45.6%). Tuberculosis discharge diagnoses, however, yielded the largest number of unreported cases (14). Health care providers should be educated regarding the importance of promptly reporting all suspected TB cases regardless of results of laboratory testing.

Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome↗
PubMed2003

Beyond quarantine: a history of leprosy in Puerto Rico, 1898-1930s.

From biblical times to the modern period, leprosy has been a disease associated with stigma. This mark of disgrace, physically present in the sufferers' sores and disfigured limbs, and embodied in the identity of a "leper", has cast leprosy into the shadows of society. This paper draws on primary sources, written in Spanish, to reconstruct the social history of leprosy in Puerto Rico when the United States annexed this island in 1898. The public health policies that developed over the period of 1898 to the 1930s were unique to Puerto Rico because of the interplay between political events, scientific developments and popular concerns. Puerto Rico was influenced by the United States' priorities for public health, and the leprosy control policies that developed were superimposed on vestiges of the colonial Spanish public health system. During the United States' initial occupation, extreme segregation sacrificed the individual rights and liberties of these patients for the benefit of society. The lives of these leprosy sufferers were irrevocably changed as a result.

Colonialism↗
PubMed1994

Geographical pathology profile of AIDS in Puerto Rico: the first decade.

Postmortem histopathological changes in 100 adult patients with AIDS who died in Puerto Rico from 1982 to 1991 were studied and tabulated. Modes of HIV transmission were reviewed. Patient ages ranged from 21 to 60 yr. Gender composition for the patient group was 83 men (average age, 35 yr) and 17 women (average age, 39 yr). Sixty-eight of the patients were injecting-drug users, 20 were homosexual and bisexual men, seven were women who had had heterosexual contact with men at risk for HIV, and one was a man who had had heterosexual contact with prostitutes. Only one case was linked to transfusions of blood. Twenty-seven men and seven women were serologically tested for antibodies and all were HIV seroreactive. The most common causes of infection and the frequency of each were as follows: Pneumocystis carinii in 49 patients; cytomegalovirus in 43; Toxoplasma gondii in 30; Candida species in 24; Histoplasma capsulatum in 18; Mycobacterium species in 14; Cryptococcus species in eight; and Strongyloides stercoralis in six patients. Infection by Schistosoma mansoni (10 patients) was considered incidental because this trematode is endemic in Puerto Rico. The lung was the organ most frequently infected by a single microorganism: Pneumocystis carinii affected 49 patients. However, Cryptococcus species was the microorganism that infected more body systems: 20 different organs in eight patients. Nineteen patients had microglial nodular encephalitis, 86 patients had lymphocyte depletion in the spleen, and 58 had lymphocyte depletion in lymph node tissue. Twenty-seven men had testicular maturation arrest and variable germ cell loss. Three patients had malignant lymphoma, and two had Kaposi's sarcoma.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

AIDS-Related Opportunistic Infections↗
PubMed1986

First report of Angiostrongylus cantonensis in Puerto Rico.

From January to April 1984, 63 Rattus rattus and 40 R. norvegicus were trapped in northeastern Puerto Rico and examined for Angiostrongylus cantonensis adults. Nineteen (47.5%) of the R. norvegicus and 10 (15.9%) of the R. rattus were infected, giving an overall infection rate of 28.2%. Four species of terrestrial snails and one species of brown slug were examined for A. cantonensis larvae. Two snail species, Subulina octona and Aquebana belutina, were found infected with third stage larvae of A. cantonensis. These larvae were harvested and inoculated per os into adult white mice. Immature adult worms were found in the brain tissue of all mice inoculated. This is the first report in the rat and snail populations of Puerto Rico.

Angiostrongylus↗
PubMed1978

Aedes aegypti in Puerto Rico: environmental determinants of larval abundance and relation to dengue virus transmission.

In order to understand adquately the dynamics of vector-borne disease, one must understand how and why vector populations change over time. We describe a long-term, cooperative study of seasonal fluctuation in populations of the Aedes aegypti mosquito in Puerto Rico. During each month of the first 3 years of the project, A. aegypti was found breeding in all five communities studied. Mosquito density was positively correlated with rainfall, the relationship being more marked in the dry, south-coastal part of the island. Discarded tires and animal watering pans were the two most common larval breeding sites. In general, houses in Puerto Rico harbor more potential A. aegypti breeding sites than those in other tropical locations, probably because Puerto Rico is relatively more affluent.

Aedes↗