Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Harmful use of alcohol—the prime gateway drug to other addictions—is also a problem in Cuba, even though the National Program for Prevention of Harmful Use of Alcohol includes the most effective measures used in analogous programs around the world. As a participant in the program’s committee and empirical observer of its accomplishments and unaccomplished goals, I draw attention to the community’s attitude of tolerance toward intoxication manifested by the lack of proportional consequences, and I insist on the need to broaden the community’s understanding of the risks of non-social drinking, which in Latin America is practically limited to alcoholism and its complications. This undervalues the damage wreaked by unpredictable and dangerous behavior under the influence, as well as the suffering of codependents and other “passive drinkers,” and the adverse effects of even social drinking.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT WHO considers the effects of air pollution one of the most pressing global health priorities. Several years ago, scientists began noting a link between Saharan dust (a meteorological phenomenon that diminishes air quality as it spreads over the globe) and some diseases, but the few studies to date have been inconsistent. Cuba has the human and material resources to study the association between Saharan dust and health. It is important to encourage creation of multidisciplinary research teams to do so.

Resumo em Inglês:

ABSTRACT Gestational diabetes is the most common endocrine disorder affecting pregnant women and its prevalence is on the rise. Prevalence in Cuba is about 5.8%, and global prevalence ranges from 2% to 18% depending on the criteria applied. Gestational diabetes can lead to adverse gestational outcomes, such as fetal death, preterm delivery, dystocia, perinatal asphyxia and neonatal complications. Prompt, accurate diagnosis allowing early treatment can benefit both mother and child. The disease is asymptomatic, so clinical laboratory testing plays a key role in its screening and diagnosis. Cuba’s approach to diabetes screening and diagnosis differs from some international practices. All pregnant women in Cuba are screened with a fasting plasma glucose test and diagnosed using modified WHO criteria. Some international recommendations are to skip the screening step and instead follow the diagnostic criteria of the Hyperglycemia and Adverse Pregnancy Outcomes study. In Cuba, gestational outcomes for women with diabetes (including gestational diabetes) are satisfactory (preeclampsia 5%; preterm delivery 12%; neonatal macrosomia 7.5%; congenital abnormalities 4.3% and perinatal deaths 4.8%). These data do not indicate a need to change established screening and diagnostic criteria.