To determine the perception of possible infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) and associated complications according to the labor sector in Peru. Methods: We performed an observational, cross sectional, and secondary data analysis. The study had three dependent variables that were obtained from a locally validated questionnaire, in which it is asked whether the professionals had the perception that they could be infected with SARS-CoV-2 at work, or could transmit the virus to their family/friends, and regarding the possibility of complications related to the infection. Results: Of the 2843 workers participating in the study, those in the health sector perceived that they were more likely to be infected at work. In the multivariate analysis, adjusted for four variables, health sector workers also perceived that they could be infected more frequently at work (adjusted prevalence ratio (aPR): 1.74; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.40-2.15; p <0.001). These professionals, moreover, perceived that they could transmit the virus to their family/friends (aPR: 0.76; 95% CI: 0.63-0.92; p = 0.005) or that there would be complications resulting from the infection (aPR: 0.59; 95% CI: 0.48-0.73; p <0.001). On the other hand, engineering sector workers were the ones who had a greater perception that they could infect their family/friends (aPR: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.20-3.20; p = 0.007), while workers from other sectors perceived that they could have more chances of complications from the infection (aPR: 1.17; 95% CI: 1.05-1.30; p = 0.006). Conclusion: The health sector may be the most vulnerable in this context, which is why occupational health teams should develop and implement specific surveillance plans to prevent and reduce the number of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) cases among healthcare workers.

Gasometría arterial en diferentes niveles de altitud en residentes adultos sanos en el Perú Conclusions:The values of the arterial blood gas analysis in healthy high-altitude adult residents are different from the normal values in sea-level residents. The higher the altitude of residence, the more pronounced the changes.

Introduction Hypertension is a very common disease worldwide, and medication is needed to prevent its short-term and long-term complications. Our objective was to determine the characteristics and factors associated with antihypertensive medication use in patients attending Peruvian health facilities.Materials & MethodsWe performed a multicenter, cross-sectional study with secondary data. We obtained self-reported antihypertensive medication from patients attending health facilities in 10 departments of Peru. We looked for associations of the antihypertensive treatment according to sociopathological factors and obtained p values using generalized linear models.ResultsOf the 894 patients with hypertension, 61% (547) were women and 60% (503) were on antihypertensive treatment, of which 82% (389) had monotherapy and 52% (258) had recently taken their medication. Antihypertensive treatment was positively correlated with the patient's age (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.01; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.007 to 1.017; p value < 0.001), diabetes (aPR: 1.31; 95% CI: 1.11 to 1.55; p value = 0.001) and cardiovascular disease (aPR: 1.38; 95% CI: 1.26 to 1.51; p value < 0.001). Conversely, the frequency of antihypertensive treatment decreases with physical activity (aPR: 0.80; 95% CI: 0.70 to 0.92; p value = 0.001).ConclusionPatients who have comorbidities and advanced age are more likely to be on antihypertensive treatment. In contrast, patients with increased physical activity have a lower frequency of antihypertensive treatment. It is important to consider these factors for future preventive programs and to improve therapeutic compliance.

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El conocimiento es pieza clave para afrontar cualquier enfermedad, pero se tiene pocos estudios basales de cuando empezó la pandemia del COVID-19. El objetivo fue el determinar la asociación entre ser población vulnerable y el bajo conocimiento que tuvieron los pobladores en 17 ciudades del Perú al inicio de la pandemia. Se midió el conocimiento mediante una escala de nueve preguntas, que indaga acerca del mecanismo, los síntomas y las consecuencias; esto se cruzó versus variables socio-demográficas mediante la estadística analítica. De los 3913 encuestados, los menores conocimientos fueron acerca de cómo reaccionar ante síntomas de un resfrío y qué tratamiento debe seguir una persona que tiene infección inicial no grave por coronavirus (37% y 53% de respuestas correctas; respectivamente). En el análisis multivariado, los que tuvieron menores porcentajes de un mal nivel de conocimiento de la enfermedad fueron los que tenían estudios superiores (RPa: 0,74; IC95%: 0,62-0,88; valor p=0,001), entre los que tenían algún post grado (RPa: 0,59; IC95%: 0,43-0,68; valor p<0,001), entre los que eran parte del personal de salud (RPa: 0,15; IC95%: 0,05-0,46; valor p=0,001) y entre las mujeres (RPa: 0,84; IC95%: 0,73-0,96; valor p=0,009), en cambio, a mayor edad hubo un peor nivel de conocimientos de la enfermedad (RPa: 1,012; IC95%: 1,005-1,018; valor p=0,001), ajustado por 4 variables. Se tuvo un bajo conocimiento en algunos aspectos y esto se asocia a algunas características específicas según ser considerado de población vulnerable.

Introducción: la pandemia vivida obligó a cambios sociales que pudieron influir en la salud mental. El objetivo fue determinar la prevalencia y asociaciones de ansiedad, depresión y estrés en estudiantes universitarios peruanos durante la pandemia por COVID-19. Materiales y métodos: estudio transversal analítico y multicéntrico, en 2572 estudiantes universitarios de 16 ciudades de Perú. Los diagnósticos de depresión, ansiedad y estrés se obtuvieron con la escala DASS-21 (alfa estrés: 0.85; alfa ansiedad: 0.84 y alfa depresión: 0.87). A estos se los cruzó con importantes variables socioeducativas. Resultados: la ansiedad fue la patología más frecuente (4 % de forma extrema severa, 3 % de forma severa y 10 % de forma moderada); el estrés y la depresión no tienen asociación con la carrera profesional (p > 0.330 y p > 0.440, respectivamente); en cambio, la ansiedad fue menor en los estudiantes de carreras de salud (p = 0.011). Las mujeres tuvieron más estrés (p = 0.040) y ansiedad (p = 0.017). A mayor edad, hubo menos estrés (p = 0.002), depresión (p = 0.006) y ansiedad (p = 0.044). Los de tercer año tuvieron más depresión en comparación con los de primer año (p = 0.011). Conclusiones: existen importantes prevalencias y asociaciones de las tres patologías evaluadas, lo que debe ser monitorizado según como están actualmente. Esto por las posibles futuras manifestaciones de crisis de pánico, estrés postraumático, entre otras.

Background: High blood pressure is one of the four values used for monitoring a patient’s health condition. However, there are no reports on this parameter in relation to populations at different geographical altitudes. This study’s main objective was to determine the mean values of blood pressure according to patient characteristics and geographic altitude of residence in Peru. Methods: This was a multicenter, cross-sectional study, taken by convenience sampling. Patients lived for more than six months in cities with altitudes ranging from sea level to 5100 meters above mean sea level (mamsl). Data was categorized using 2000-m ranges and obtained from normotensive patients with hypertension (HTN) with and without treatment. P values were obtained using a multivariate analysis using Stata (Stata Corp, Texas, USA).Results: Of the 5,236 participants, 3,305(63%) were women, and the median age was 42 years. The median systolic/diastolic blood pressures (mmHg) were 110/70, 115.5/75, and 103/63, for 0-2000 mamsl, 2001-4000 mamsl, and 4001-5100 mamsl, respectively (p < 0.001). When data was adjusted according to patient characteristics, most of the differences in values were statistically significant for treated hypertensive (systolic p < 0.001; diastolic p = 0.243) and normotensive (systolic and diastolic p < 0.001), compared to untreated hypertensive patients. Conclusion: The blood pressure values varied with the altitude of residence and type of patient. Furthermore, these parameters should be taken into account as reference values by physicians working at different geographical altitudes for management of their patients.