Epidemiology of some diseases in Chile

✍ Scribed by M. Castro; R. Moreno; E. Aspillaga

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 1997
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 80 KB
• Volume: 7
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1047-482X
• DOI: 10.1002/(sici)1099-1212(199711/12)7:6<631::aid-oa398>3.0.co;2-a

✦ Synopsis

The causes of disease can be grouped into three categories: genetic, environmental and the interaction between these two. The comparison of the past and present epidemiological pro®les of a disease that is still prevalent in a population helps us to answer such questions as: Is it the same disease or a new one?' Is it affecting the same biological population or a different one?' `Are there any environmental factors associated with the pathogenic process that cause the disease or maintain it throughout time?'

Diseases such as inherited malformations and vector-borne and multifactorial diseases have been present in past and modern Amerindian groups. This paper analyses the evolution of three diseasesÐoculoauriculovertebral syndrome, Chagas' disease and cholelithiasisÐin Chilean aboriginal populations. Palaeoepidemiological and actual epidemiological information is examined in relation to the ethnic/genetic component.