The prevalence of MSK pain in our study was 25.5%. Geographic variations in the prevalence of MSK pain and specific diagnoses suggested a role for geographic factors in the prevalence of rheumatic diseases.

Summaryobjective To evaluate the acceptance and long-term use of insecticide-treated (IT) materials for dengue vector control.methods In 2007, IT jar covers and ⁄ or curtains (PermaNetÒ) were distributed under routine conditions to 4101 households (10 clusters) in Venezuela and to 2032 households (22 clusters) in Thailand. The use of IT tools was measured at distribution (uptake), at 5 ⁄ 6 months (short-term use) and at 18 ⁄ 22 months (continued use) after distribution. Determinants of use were assessed with logistic regression analysis.results The uptake of IT curtains was 76.7% in Venezuela and 92.3% in Thailand. It was associated with being a resident for >5 years (OR Venezuela 3.0 95% CI 2.0-4.4; OR Thailand 3.5 95% CI 1.7-7.3) and with pre-intervention use of ordinary curtains (OR Venezuela 2.2 95% CI 1.4-3.6). The continued use decreased significantly to 38.4% of households in Venezuela and 59.7% in Thailand and was, conditional on short-term use, only determined by the perceived effectiveness of IT curtains (OR Venezuela 13.0 95%CI 8.7-19.5; OR Thailand 4.9 95% CI 3.1-7.8). Disease knowledge and preintervention perception of mosquito nuisance were not associated with IT curtains' uptake or use. The uptake of IT jar covers in Venezuela was 21.5% and essentially determined by the presence of uncovered jars in the household ). Their continued use, conditional on short-time use, was positively associated with the household use of AbateÒ (OR 7.8 95% CI 2.1-28.9).conclusion The use of IT curtains rapidly declines over time. Continued use is mainly determined by the perceived effectiveness of the tool. This poses a real challenge if IT curtains are to be introduced in dengue control programmes.

Various individual and regional factors were associated with variations in the prevalence of RA in the Mexican population.

The purpose of the study is to validate a culturally sensitive adaptation of the community-oriented program for the control of rheumatic diseases (COPCORD) methodology in several Latin American indigenous populations. The COPCORD Spanish questionnaire was translated and back-translated into seven indigenous languages: Warao, Kariña and Chaima (Venezuela), Mixteco, Maya-Yucateco and Raramuri (Mexico) and Qom (Argentina). The questionnaire was administered to almost 100 subjects in each community with the assistance of bilingual translators. Individuals with pain, stiffness or swelling in any part of the body in the previous 7 days and/or at any point in life were evaluated by physicians to confirm a diagnosis according to criteria for rheumatic diseases. Overall, individuals did not understand the use of a 0-10 visual analog scale for pain intensity and severity grading and preferred a Likert scale comprising four items for pain intensity (no pain, minimal pain, strong pain, and intense pain). They were unable to discriminate between pain intensity and pain severity, so only pain intensity was included. For validation, 702 subjects (286 male, 416 female, mean age 42.7 ± 18.3 years) were interviewed in their own language. In the last 7 days, 198 (28.2 %) subjects reported having musculoskeletal pain, and 90 (45.4 %) of these had intense pain. Compared with the physician-confirmed diagnosis, the COPCORD questionnaire had 73.8 % sensitivity, 72.9 % specificity, a positive likelihood ratio of 2.7 and area under the receiver operating characteristic curve of 0.73. The COPCORD questionnaire is a valid screening tool for rheumatic diseases in indigenous Latin American populations.