This paper reviews the methods and principles for quality of life assessment. The aging of the population and the improved survival of people with acute and chronic conditions have produced several levels of disability requiring long-term treatment and rehabilitation. In 1948 the World Health Organization defined health as not merely the absence of disease but rather a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being. This term evolved from its conceptual definition to the development of scales to measure the quality of life beyond physical status. Thus, quality of life assessment includes areas such as mental health, social support, and life satisfaction. It is recognized that the expectations, vitality, pain, disability, and personal experiences influence the perception of a person's general health. A composite measurement aimed to quantify health according to physical, mental, and social well being simultaneously would likely find people at different points on the three different continua, but in the midranges of the composite. The multidimensionality problems and the level of subjectivity involved in the assessment of the quality of life require valid and reliable instruments. This paper present an inventory of 126 questionnaires aimed to measure the quality of life for several diseases and populations. A better understanding of the methods to assess the quality of life will allow the incorporation of these instruments in the comprehensive assessment of patients, into clinical trials, and for health services research.

This paper reviews the methods and principles for quality of life assessment. The aging of the population and the improved survival of people with acute and chronic conditions have produced several levels of disability requiring long-term treatment and rehabilitation. In 1948 the World Health Organization defined health as not merely the absence of disease but rather a state of complete physical, mental, and social well being. This term evolved from its conceptual definition to the development of scales to measure the quality of life beyond physical status. Thus, quality of life assessment includes areas such as mental health, social support, and life satisfaction. It is recognized that the expectations, vitality, pain, disability, and personal experiences influence the perception of a person's general health. A composite measurement aimed to quantify health according to physical, mental, and social well being simultaneously would likely include people at clearly different points on the three different continua, but in the midranges of the composite. The multidimensionality problems and the level of subjectivity involved in the assessment of the quality of life require valid and reliable instruments. This paper present an inventory of 126 questionnaires aimed to measure the quality of life for several diseases and populations. A better understanding of the methods to assess the quality of life will allow the incorporation of these instruments in the comprehensive assessment of patients, into clinical trials, and for health services research. The English version of this paperis available at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html ResumenEste trabajo hace una revisión sobre los aspectos metodoló-gicos necesarios para evaluar la validez y consistencia de las escalas de medición de calidad de vida. La evaluación de la calidad de vida es sumamente importante, pero difícil de cuantificar objetivamente. La calidad de vida es un fenó-meno que se afecta tanto por la enfermedad como por los efectos adversos del tratamiento. Las mediciones pueden estar basadas en encuestas directas a los pacientes, con referencia al inicio de la enfermedad, su diagnóstico y a los cambios de síntomas a través del tiempo. Debido a que la calidad de vida se basa en mediciones blandas con una carga variable de subjetividad, se requiere de métodos de evaluación válidos, reproducibles y confiables. Actualmente contamos con métodos objetivos que mediante cuestionarios generan escalas e índices que permiten medir las dimensiones que conforman el estado de salud. Los instrumentos para medir calidad de vida deben verse como herramientas adicionales del clínico en la evaluación integral del paciente, y en la conducción de ensayos clínicos. Los instrumentos para medir calidad de vida se clasifican en instrumentos genéricos y específicos. Los primeros son útiles para comparar diferentes poblaciones y padecimientos, pero tienen el riesgo de ser poco sensibles a los cambios clí-nicos, por lo cual su finalidad es meramente descriptiva. Los instrumen...

Sexually transmitted infections associated with vulvovaginal symptoms in adolescents denying sexual activity. Salud Publica Mex 2003;45 suppl 5:S641-S646. The English version of this paper is available too at: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html Abstract Objective. To identify clinical, laboratory and ultrasonographic evidence of a probable sexually transmitted infection associated with vulvovaginal symptoms in adolescents denying sexual activity. Material and Methods. The medical records of female adolescents, aged 10-18 years were reviewed. These women received first-time medical care for vulvovaginitis, between 1995 and 1999 at Hospital Infantil de México Federico Gómez, (Children's Hospital). Comparisons between groups were performed, as appropriate, by the unpaired Student's t-test, the Z test or the chi-square test; statistically significant differences were set at a twotailed p<0.05. Odds ratios with 95% confidence intervals were calculated. Results. Of 258 adolescents with vulvovaginitis, 53 (20.5%) had a sexually transmitted microorganism and 52 of them denied ever having sexual activity. Age, education and socioeconomic level, development of sexual characters, and presence of menstruation did not differ between patients with and without sexually transmitted infections. The presence of sexually transmitted infections was associated with lower abdominal pain, abnormally colored vaginal discharge, a positive urine culture, and an abdominal ultrasonographic evidence, compatible with pelvic inflammatory disease (ultrasonographic odds ratio 144.8; 95% CI 51.0 to 411.3). Conclusions. There is an association between sexually transmitted infections in young women with vulvovaginitis and lower abdominal pain, Velarde-Jurado E, Estrada-Reyes E, Eraña-Guerra L, Raya-Rivera A, Velázquez-Armenta EY, Nava-Ocampo AA. Infecciones de transmisión sexual asociadas a síntomas vulvovaginales en adolescentes que niegan vida sexual activa. Salud Publica Mex 2003;45 supl 5:S641-S646. El texto completo en inglés de este artículo también está disponible en: http://www.insp.mx/salud/index.html ARTÍCULO ORIGINAL S642 salud pública de méxico / vol.45, suplemento 5 de 2003 Velarde-Jurado E y col.

No abstract