Ecuador logged 93,680 mental health hospitalisations in a decade
A national registry analysis found the highest burden among 20-to-29-year-olds and a notable rise among girls aged 10 to 19, with rates concentrated in the Sierra region.
In Colombia, most contraception is bought out of pocket, not through insurance
A national pharmaceutical database analysis found out-of-pocket purchases accounted for 78-86% of contraceptive use, with emergency contraception priced up to 25 times higher than the insured rate.
Early-onset type 2 diabetes is rising fastest where incomes are lowest
Two November burden analyses put diabetes diagnosed before 40 on an upward path to 2050. In the Americas, Central Latin America carried the highest rates and men carried more of the burden than women.
In an Ecuadorian survey, stress and anxiety predicted insomnia — demographics did not
Age, sex, employment and socioeconomic level together explained under 1% of variance in insomnia severity. Perceived stress and generalised anxiety explained close to a third.
As COP30 opens in Belém, the region's own climate-health ledger is blunt
The 2025 Lancet Countdown Latin America report tracks 41 indicators across 17 countries. Heat-related deaths are up 103%, and fewer than half the region's governments have finished a vulnerability assessment.