Social capital and health in Latin America and the Caribbean: a systematic review/Capital social y salud en America Latina y el Caribe: una revision sistematica

Objective. To identify validated information available on the relationship between social capital (SC) and health in Latin America and the Caribbean (LAC). Methods. A systematic search for papers published from January 1990-June 2007 was conducted on the Medline, SciELO, LILACS, and the Cochrane Library databases. All of the research and review articles published by scientific journals that evaluated CS and its relationship to health in LAC were included in the analysis. Results. Fifteen articles were found (11 original research and 4 reviews). The health topics examined by the research articles were: (a) mortality and life expectancy, (b) mental health, (c) injuries, (d) nutritional status, and (e) immunization. The validity of these works, the results, and the principal conclusions were analyzed in depth. Conclusions. Despite limitations inherent to the CS concept and the studies identified, it was confirmed that scientific evidence exists to support the possible association between CS and health in LAC. CS could play a protective role in certain health areas, such as injury prevention and mental health; not withstanding, the relationship between CS and health could vary according to CS subtype and socioeconomic context and culture. It is therefore imperative to continue social epidemiology research that thoroughly investigates the relationship between social determinants and specific aspects of health in LAC context. Key words Social participation, health, Latin America, Caribbean Region. Objetivo. Identificar la informacion validada disponible sobre la relacion entre el capital social (CS) y la salud en America Latina y el Caribe (ALC). Metodos. Se realizo una busqueda sistematica de los trabajos publicados entre enero de 1990 y junio de 2007 en las bases de datos Medline, SciELO, LILACS y The Cochrane Library. Se analizaron todos los articulos de investigacion y revision publicados en revistas cientificas, que evaluaran el CS y su relacion con la salud en ALC. Resultados. Se encontraron 15 articulos (11 de investigacion original y 4 de revision). Las areas de salud exploradas por las investigaciones originales fueron: a) mortalidad y esperanza de vida, b) salud mental, c) traumas, d) estado nutricional y e) vacunacion. Se analiza detalladamente la validez de estos trabajos, sus resultados y principales conclusiones. Conclusiones. A pesar de las limitaciones propias del concepto de CS y de los estudios identificados, se puede afirmar que existe evidenc