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Background: Vitamin D deficiency is common worldwide. No homogenous reference values have yet been established and no studies of values have been conducted in Spain involving a large number of participants. Objective: To study the population concentrations of vitamin D in a representative sample of the Spanish population. Subjects/Methods: The study involved two cohorts from Spain, the Asturias study and the Pizarra study, which are two prospective, population-based studies involving 2260 participants. In 1262 subjects (age: 20-83 years) we studied 25-hydroxyvitamin D, intact parathyroid hormone (iPTH), calcium, phosphorus and creatinine. Results: The median population values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D and iPTH were 22.46 ng/ml and 42.29 pg/ml, respectively. The values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D were significantly higher in summer and correlated with age (β = -0.05 ± 0.01, P < 0.0001), creatinine (β = 6.42 ± 1.17, P < 0.0001) and iPTH (-0.07 [+ or - ]0.01, P < 0.0001), but not with calcium, phosphorus or sex. The increase in iPTH with age was seen whatever the values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D, and was greater in the older persons. The concentration of iPTH rose continuously with effect from 25-hydroxyvitamin D values below ≅ 30 ng/ml. Values above ≅ 35 ng/ml were associated with a significantly lower concentration of iPTH. Conclusions: One-third (33.9%) of the Spanish population may be at risk for Vitamin D deficiency. The 25-hydroxyvitamin D values above 30 ng/ml can safely discard 'hyper PTH'. The increase in iPTH concentration is greater in older persons for similar values of 25-hydroxyvitamin D. European Journal of Clinical Nutrition (2011) 65, 321-328; doi: 10.1038/ejcn.2010.265; published online 22 December 2010 Keywords: vitamin D deficiency; 25-hydroxyvitamin D; parathyroid hormone, Introduction Previtamin D is synthesized in the skin after sun exposure and can also be ingested with foods having high concentrations of vitamin D. Previtamin D is metabolized in the [...]

International policy on the prevention of HIV and other health problems among drug users should be guided by scientific evidence. However, it has frequently been argued that Needle Exchange Programs (NEPs) have negative effects such as facilitation of injection of illicit drugs, without providing evidence to support this hypothesis. Since the early 1980s Spain has experienced a severe HIV epidemic among drug injectors. A delayed but comprehensive implementation of harm reduction programs has taken place since the early 1990s. This paper assesses trends between 1991 and 2004, both in the number of sterile syringes exchanged or delivered by NEPs or other programs to improve injectors' access to sterile injection material, and in the number of injectors admitted to first treatment for heroin or cocaine dependence, as a proxy for trends in the number of new drug injectors in Spain. The results show increased access to sterile syringes and a sharp decrease in the number of new drug injectors, suggesting that NEPs have not promoted drug injection. A positive overall transition from injecting to smoking was also observed in the most frequent route of heroin or cocaine administration. Keywords: Needle exchange programs; Drug injection; Route of drug administration: Spain; HIV

Byline: A. Bergareche (1,2), E. Puente (1), A. Lopez de Munain (3), C. Sarasqueta (4), A. Arce (1), J. J. Poza (3), J. F. Marti-Masso (3) Keywords: epidemiology; door-to-door survey; Parkinson's disease; parkinsonism; prevalence survey Abstract: Abstract. Objectives: To assess the prevalence of Parkinson's disease and parkinsonism in two Spanish populations (Irun and Hondarribia, Bidasoa Region) and to compare the results with those of similar surveys. Methods: The survey included 2000 participants aged 65 years or older in a door-to-door, three-phase design. In the screening phase we used the SNES (Sicilian Neuro-Epidemiologic Study) screening questionnaire, which has 100% sensitivity. In phases 2 and 3 we carried out a 3-year follow-up of all cases diagnosed with parkinsonism in phase 2. Progressively stricter diagnostic criteria were chosen in order to minimize the impact of false positives on the final results. Results: The prevalence of Parkinson's disease (PD) was 1.5 % (95% confidence interval, 0.9 to 2.3) and the prevalence of other types of parkinsonism (OP) was 1.1 % (95% confidence interval 0.6 to 1.9). The overall prevalence by age group was 0.4 % (65--74 years), 4.7% (75--84 years), and 2.9% (aY= 85 years) for Parkinson's disease and 0.7%, 2%, and 3.9 % for parkinsonism, respectively. The other parkinsonism prevalence was 1.3 % in men and 1.6 % in women. Conclusions: These prevalence rates are similar than those found in studies made in other European countries. The prevalence of both Parkinson's disease and other types of parkinsonism increased with age, with no significant differences between men and women. Author Affiliation: (1) Dept. of Neurology, Bidasoa Hospital, Bidasoa, Spain (2) Hospital Bidasoa, Servicio de Neurologia, Hondarribia, 20280, Spain (3) Dept. of Neurology, Donostia Hospital, Donostia, Spain (4) Dept. of Clinical Epidemiology, Donostia Hospital, Donostia, Spain Article History: Registration Date: 01/01/2004 Received Date: 07/04/2003 Accepted Date: 06/11/2003

To evaluate the trend in social inequalities in health in Spain between 1987 and 1995/97, we carried out a secondary analysis of the Spanish National Interview Surveys from 1987, 1995 and 1997. We studied less-than-good perceived general health and four chronic conditions--heart disease, diabetes mellitus, chronic bronchitis/asthma and allergies--by social class and educational level in men and women aged 25-74 years. Among men, the age-adjusted prevalence rate ratio of less-than-good perceived general health by social class decreased from 1.32 to 1.23 between 1987 and 1995/97; however, the prevalence rate ratio by educational level increased from 1.47 to 1.57. Among women, the prevalence rate ratio of less-than-good perceived general health increased between the first and second period as much by social class--from 1.18 to 1.26, as by educational level--from 1.59 to 1.66. For heart disease the age-adjusted prevalence rate ratio by social class among men was 1.12 in 1987 and 0.72 in 1995/97, while the prevalence rate ratio by educational level was around 1 in both periods; among women, the prevalence rate ratio for heart disease by social class was the same in 1987 and in 1995/97, but the prevalence rate ratio by educational level increased between the first and second period. For diabetes mellitus and chronic bronchitis/asthma, the prevalence rate ratio increased by social class and educational level between the first and second period in both men and women. Finally, the prevalence rate ratio for allergies was always Keywords: Health inequalities; Spain; Social class; Education

Objective: We developed and tested the psychometric properties of Spanish versions of the Trait and State Food Cravings Questionnaires (FCQ-T and FCQ-S respectively). Method: The instruments were translated and adapted to Spanish and administered to undergraduate students from a Southern university in Spain (N = 271). The data were analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis to compare the factor structure of the English and Spanish versions of both questionnaires. Results: The factors structure of both questionnaires obtained excellent fit indices across their Spanish versions with the one exception that some factors of the FCQ-S were more highly intercorrelated among the Spanish sample than the American. Discussion: This study supports the conceptualization of food cravings as universal multidimensional motivational states that can be reliably measured and supports the use of the Spanish versions of the FCQ.

Electrothermal atomization-atomic spectometry (ETA-AAS) was used to test the aluminum content of drinks and food such as olive oil, dairy produce, vegetables and seafood in Spain.

Results demonstrate that six groups of the pancreatic necrosis viruses are recognizable based on the genome mobility and separation among genomic segments. Data further show that most of the isolates belong to European types and only 6.5% are American strains.

HIV subtype B predominates in Spain, according to a detailed analysis of viral strains isolated from 79 blood samples. All but one were subtype B, and the remaining isolate was subtype F.

Epidemiological research of Down's syndrome in the Spanish city of El Valles revealed a rise in disomy in cases of paternal origin. While most fathers of Down's syndrome children did not have a significant difference in chromosome 21 disomy from the control population, a large increase was discovered in the fathers of children whose syndrome was of paternal origin.

A major locus for autosomal recessive retinitis pigmentosa (arRP) has been identified on 6q between markers D6S257 and D6S1644. It was established by homozygosity mapping in inbred families of chromosomal regions containing gamma-aminobutyric acid-receptor clusters. RP has extensive allelic and nonallelic genetic herogeneity. It appears that 10-20% of Spanish families affected by typical arRP may have linkage to the new locus. Of the cases of the disease in Spain, 47% present autosomal recessive inheritance.

Thelazia callipaeda (Spirurida, Thelaziidae) is a parasitic helminth transmitted by zoophilic insects of the order Diptera, family Drosophilidae, genus Phortica while feeding on ocular secretions of their hosts during summer [...]

Spain has the highest incidence of multiply antibiotic-resistant isolates of Streptococcus pneumoniae. Of the prevalent serotypes, only three isolates have been characterized: serogroup 23, 6 and 14. Studies of 95 multiply antibiotic pneumococci isolated in Spain between 1988 and 1994 identified two new serogroups, 19 and 15, in addition to the previously characterized serogroups. Eighteen of the 24 isolates of serogroup 19 were members of a penicillin-resistant clone that is suggested to be a serotype 19F variant of serotype 23F, while the isolates of serotype 14 appeared to be members of an unknown penicillin-resistant clone.

A study conducted on the dietary intake of metals such as lead, cadmium, copper, iron, zinc and mercury in different regions of Spain indicates that the intake of lead by people in Madrid is high and poses a risk to health, especially in children and in pregnant and lactating women. The levels of cadmium and zinc are close to the acceptable daily intake values in some areas, but in places where the diet includes sea foods, the levels are of cadmium and mercury are higher than the provisional tolerable weekly intake values.

This paper is based on an alternative approach to standard quantitative analyses in research on behavior and health. Theory and methods focused on the elaboration of complex situational and behavioral influences on health are used in secondary analyses of data from a population health survey in Spain. Findings showing fundamental differences in the relationships among the behavioral and health variables within various age, gender and social groups illustrate the importance of studying interacting influences in relevant subgroups of the population. Quite meaningful findings can be hidden in behavioral research limited to identifying global statistical correlations in cross-sectional and longitudinal data. The impact that statistical methods can have on the findings from analyses that are not guided by theory and logic based on substantive questions derived from the research literature is discussed. The results point to the need to study patterns of behavior in their contexts of occurrence in research on lifestyles and health.

US and Spanish emergency room admissions for injury and noninjury problems were compared on the predictive value of breath-analyzer readings, drinking prior to the event, feeling drunk at the time of the event, drinking patterns, alcohol-related problems and demographic characteristics. Results showed that quantity and frequency of drinking, time and place of injury and feeling drunk at the time of the event were predictive of alcohol-related injuries in California. On the other hand, drinking patterns were less predictive of alcohol-related injury in Spain.

The national infant, neonatal, postneonatal and perinatal mortality in Spain does not reflect the differences which exist among regions. The aim of the present study is to demonstrate and to quantify these differences, as well as their annual trends. We have also attempted to define groups of regions presenting similar rates. The results of the study confirmed a decrease in all mortality rates during the analyzed period. Regions were grouped according to their rates. Differences between the top and the bottom groups (with the lowest and the highest rates, respectively) resulted in statistical significance. However, the differences between these and the middle groups were not sharply defined. In addition, a clear geographic aggregation was evidenced in both top and bottom groups. These differences are mainly due to economic and sanitary factors. Key words--infant mortality, neonatal mortality, postneonatal mortality, perinatal mortality, geographical differences, risk factors

This article examines the relationship between health and social differences in Spain. The dominant explanatory models (medical, health system oriented and economical) have focused on health care as the main source of health. They have disregarded the role of socioeconomic variables in the genesis, development and cure of illness. In relation to the distribution of health, the variables analysed here are those of poverty, social class, sex, age, living conditions, lifestyles and some existential indicators using both official aggregated data and survey data. We conclude that Spain is a country with major economic, social and regional differences and manifests important variations in the health of its population. The evidence taken from the data presented here seems to indicate that poverty, living conditions and income play a relevant explanatory role.

A mass immunization campaign for 18-month to 19-year-olds was undertaken in Spain in 1996-1997 because of an epidemic of serogroup C meningococcal disease associated with a C:2b:P1.2,5 strain belonging to [...]

We describe a case of locally acquired Plasmodium ovale malaria in Spain. The patient was a Spanish woman who had never traveled out of Spain and had no other risk [...]

Rickettsia felis, formerly called ELB agent, was identified by using molecular biology techniques in the cat flea (Ctenocephalides felis felis) from southwestern Spain. For the first time this flea-transmitted rickettsia [...]

The statistics obtained from the study conducted in Spain from the year 1975 to 1989 are used to analyze the influence of child age on the probability of death in different seasons during the first year of life. The analysis demonstrates a higher risk of dying in the winter season.

Objectives. This study analyzed the pattern of smoking initiation by sex and educational level in Catalonia, Spain. Methods. Data from the 1994 Catalan Health Interview Survey were used (n = 12245). The age and smoking status of each subject were reconstructed for each calendar period. Age-specific smoking initiation rates were calculated. Results. Smoking initiation among females was rare until the 1960s, but from the period 1968-1972 onward a converging pattern was observed between the genders. Women with higher levels of education started smoking before other women, but the gradient of educational level has changed in recent years, with higher initiation rates among less-educated women. Conclusions. These results are consistent with diffusion-of-innovations theory and could be related to social and economic changes from the 1960s onward in Spain. (Am J Public Health. 2000;90:1459-1462)