Medwave最新文献

{"title":"Spatial analysis of receptivity and vulnerability to arbovirosis transmission in Ecuador between 2015 and 2019: An ecological study.","authors":"Jaen Cagua-Ordoñez, Inti Quevedo-Bastidas, Daniel Simancas-Racines, Evelyn Frias-Toral, Juan Marcos Parise-Vasco, Jaime Angamarca-Iguago","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.03.3025","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.03.3025","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Arboviruses such as dengue, Zika and chikungunya represent a threat to public health in several South American countries, including Ecuador. Accurate identification of local risk areas and detection of critical transmission points are crucial for the effective planning of vector control programs, particularly in the management of the effectively planning vector control programs, particularly in managing mosquito. This study aimed to characterize the variables of receptivity and vulnerability to arboviral transmission at the cantonal level, and to identify hotspots in Ecuador between 2015 and 2019.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Environmental and sociodemographic data at the cantonal level were used to perform a spatial analysis, which included a spatial autocorrelation analysis to identify transmission hotspots at the parish level. GeoDa software was used to detect these hotspots.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The provinces of Ecuador with the highest levels of receptivity and vulnerability were Manabí, Guayas, El Oro and Esmeraldas. These levels were mainly related to temperature, altitude, and limited access to clean water services. Fifty-six cantons were identified as high transmission areas. Nine parishes were classified as transmission hotspots for five consecutive years.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The spatial analysis allowed for precisely identifying the more susceptible and vulnerable areas for arbovirus transmission in Ecuador. The persistence of transmission hotspots in certain municipalities was evidenced, influenced by environmental and sociodemographic factors. This evidence is key to adapt and improve vector surveillance and control strategies in the most affected regions.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 3","pages":"e3025"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143780511","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Distribution of malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity in Ecuador: an epidemiological study from 2015 to 2019.","authors":"Karina Lalangui, Emmanuelle Quentin, Juan Marcos Parise-Vasco, Claudia Reytor-Gonzalez, Evelyn Frías-Toral, Daniel Simancas-Racines","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.03.3024","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.03.3024","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity represent a public health problem worldwide with an increasing incidence, especially in young populations. In Ecuador, the epidemiology of these conditions has been little studied, limiting timely diagnosis and management. The study aims to identify the distribution of hospitalizations and deaths from oral cavity malignant neoplasms in Ecuador during the pre-pandemic years, from 2015 to 2019, describing spatiotemporal patterns by province, gender, and age.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>An observational and descriptive study was conducted using the database of hospitalizations and deaths of the National Institute of Statistics and Census of Ecuador. Variables such as age, gender, province, and location of the neoplasms were analyzed, and frequencies, proportions, and crude rates were calculated.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Between 2015 and 2019, 4444 hospitalizations and 726 deaths were reported, with a notable increase in 2019. Males predominated in all the studied years. Malignant neoplasms of unspecified sites and other sites of the tongue had the highest frequency of cases and deaths. Geographically, the provinces of Loja, El Oro, Cañar, Carchi, and Bolivar had the highest rates.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>The study shows an increase in hospitalizations and deaths due to malignant neoplasms of the oral cavity between 2015 and 2019, highlighting the urgency of implementing public health strategies aimed at prevention, early detection, and timely treatment of this disease.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 3","pages":"e3024"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143764497","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Migration and access to sexual and reproductive health from the perspective of health agents in northern Chile.","authors":"María Belén Reinoso-Cataldo, Mercedes Carrasco-Portiño, Cecilia Bustos-Ibarra, Valeria Stuardo-Ávila","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3009","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3009","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Due to the increase and feminization of migration in Chile, and the resulting boost in the demand for sexual and reproductive health consultations, there is a need for analizaing migrants' access to health services from the health agents' perspective.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>To characterize migrants' access to sexual and reproductive healthcare from the health agents' perspective.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Exploratory-descriptive qualitative study with a phenomenological approach. Theoretical sampling included midwives from primary health care (n=4) and staff from NGOs working with migrants (n=7). Data was collected through semi-structured interviews and a focus group, and then analyzed with ATLAS.ti.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Through healthcare agents, we found that there are gaps in the migrants' access to sexual and reproductive healthcare, which are associated to a lack of information on the Chilean health system, the distance between their living places and the health centers, and health not being migrants' priority, plus other gaps affecting the LGBTQIA+ community. The agents also give suggestions on how to mitigate these gaps, such as increasing information strategies and facilitating cross-sector collaboration. There are positive elements as well, such as the primary healthcare teams' knowledge of health profiles per nationality, ability to fit their speech, and willingness to adapt healthcare to the different cultural practices.</p><p><strong>Conclusión: </strong>There are gaps in the access of health care and use of sexual and reproductive health services by migrants, which are mainly associated to the lack of information on their rights in Chile and ignorance of sexual and reproductive health services. Information strategies should be expanded towards migrants.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e3009"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143730468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Factors associated with health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients in a Peruvian hospital: A cross-sectional study.","authors":"Ariana Isabel Rojas Aliaga, Yoshua David Rojas Peña, Luis Jesus Arellan Bravo, Sarai Gloria Chavez Bustamante, Briam Cristiam Benito Condor","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2915","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2915","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Health-related quality of life in patients undergoing chronic hemodialysis has become a fundamental criterion for evaluating the effectiveness of treatments, promoting the overall well-being of this population. The study aims to identify the factors associated with health-related quality of life in patients with chronic kidney disease undergoing hemodialysis in Huancayo, Peru, from September to November 2022.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>Observational, descriptive, single-center, cross-sectional study in which sociodemographic data associated with health-related quality of life in hemodialysis patients were identified using the SF-36 instrument.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>The SF-36 questionnaire on health-related quality of life (HRQoL) was administered to 88 hemodialysis patients, of whom 68.2% were men, and 87.5% were undergoing outpatient dialysis. The main cause of chronic kidney disease was hypertension, affecting 46.6% of participants. Additionally, 80.7% had been on hemodialysis treatment for less than five years. In the bivariate analysis, significant differences were observed in the vitality dimension concerning educational level (p = 0.011) and sex (p = 0.049). Likewise, there was a significant difference between the average values of the emotional role dimension (p = 0.038) of the SF-36 in the nutritional status levels and a significant difference between the average total scores of the SF-36 in the salary levels (p = 0.048). The multivariate analysis identified correlations between nutritional status and pain; educational level and vitality; nutritional status and physical role; economic income; educational level and social function; and nutritional status and emotional role.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>Patients on hemodialysis have a total health-related quality of life score ranging from low to moderate (90.8%). The factors associated with a lower quality of life are being male, poor nutrition, low educational level, and a poor emotional state. Early identification of these factors will allow the development of interventions to improve these patients' quality of life. It is crucial to design interventions focused on improving nutrition and preventing mental health disorders, paying special attention to men with low educational levels.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e2915"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143710801","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"COVID-19 as a risk factor for the development of pulmonary fibrosis in a referral hospital in Lima, Peru.","authors":"Yeisson Rivero-Moreno, Vanessa García-Gil, Andrea García-Nunes, Miguel Rivas-Pérez, Erinor Montero-Palma, Andrea Chávez-Contreras, Gino Ramírez-Calderón, Nelson Martínez-Merizalde, Antony Gonzales-Uribe, Estefhany Areyan-Gamboa, Kevin Morales-Cornieles, Rafael Lezama-Graterol","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2962","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2962","url":null,"abstract":"&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introduction: &lt;/strong&gt;The emergency caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has passed, but we must study the potential sequelae left in the population. Cases of pulmonary fibrosis have been reported after severe COVID-19. However, the association between these factors has not been widely studied in Latin American countries, one of the regions most affected by the pandemic.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Methods: &lt;/strong&gt;A case-control study was conducted to determine whether a history of hospitalization due to COVID-19 is a risk factor for developing pulmonary fibrosis. We compared patients with a radiological diagnosis of pulmonary fibrosis on high-resolution computed tomography (cases) with those without such findings (controls), conducted between March 2021 and June 2023 in a referral hospital in Lima, Peru.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Results: &lt;/strong&gt;Among the total number of patients evaluated, the median age was 72 years, with a predominance of females (58.2%). 7.5% of patients with pulmonary fibrosis had a history of hospitalization due to COVID-19, compared to 6.1% in the control group (OR 1.24; 95% CI 0.65 to 2.36). The stratified analysis revealed a significant odds ratio for the group of patients with arterial hypertension (OR 5.9; 95% CI 1.28 to 27.34). The median follow-up after hospitalization for COVID-19 was 315.5 days.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Conclusions: &lt;/strong&gt;Hospitalization due to COVID-19 was not a risk factor for developing pulmonary fibrosis one year after medical discharge, except in patients with hypertension. Evidence suggests that the prevalence of pulmonary fibrosis may decrease over time.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Introducción: &lt;/strong&gt;La emergencia por la pandemia de COVID-19 ha pasado, pero debemos estudiar las posibles secuelas que han quedado en la población. Se han reportado casos de fibrosis pulmonar después de casos severos de COVID-19. Sin embargo, la relación de riesgo entre ambos factores no ha sido ampliamente estudiada en países de Latinoamérica, una de las regiones más afectadas por la pandemia.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Métodos: &lt;/strong&gt;Se realizó un estudio de casos y controles con el objetivo de determinar si el antecedente de hospitalización por COVID-19 es un factor de riesgo para el desarrollo de fibrosis pulmonar. Comparamos pacientes con diagnóstico radiológico de fibrosis pulmonar en tomografía computarizada de alta resolución (casos), frente a aquellos sin dicha alteración (controles). Este proceso se realizó entre marzo de 2021 y junio de 2023, en un hospital de referencia en Lima, Perú.&lt;/p&gt;&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Resultados: &lt;/strong&gt;En el total de pacientes evaluados, la mediana de edad fue de 72 años con predominio del sexo femenino (58,2%). El 7,5% de los pacientes con fibrosis pulmonar tuvieron antecedente de hospitalización por COVID-19, frente al 6,1% del grupo control (: 1,24; intervalo de confianza 95%: 0,65 a 2,36). El análisis estratificado arrojo un significativo en el grupo de pacientes con hipertensión arterial (: 5,9; intervalo de confianza 95","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e2962"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143649607","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Digital strategies and behavior change techniques for preventing sexually transmitted infections: Protocol for an overview of systematic reviews.","authors":"Giuliano Duarte, Susana Sanduvete-Chaves, Daniel López-Arenas, Salvador Chacón-Moscoso","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3020","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3020","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Sexually transmitted infections (STIs) are a leading cause of premature mortality, with unsafe sex as a predominant risk factor. Changing risky sexual behaviors and adopting healthy habits is key to preventing STIs, including HIV, essential for public health. Technological advances in digital interventions have revealed significant opportunities, and systematic reviews have evaluated their effectiveness. These digital interventions, using technologies such as mobile phones, apps, and wearable devices, have shown great potential to reduce STIs, particularly among young people, who are a key population for their implementation.</p><p><strong>Objective: </strong>This protocol aims to describe in advance a systematic review intended to gather, evaluate, and synthesize the available evidence on digital behavior change interventions for STI prevention. In particular, it seeks to identify the most effective behavior change techniques to guide the design of evidence-based interventions that contribute to reducing STIs.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This protocol outlines a review of systematic reviews. The methodological quality of the included reviews will be assessed using the AMSTAR-2 tool, following the PRISMA-P guidelines. Comprehensive searches will be conducted in Cochrane, PubMed, Epistemonikos, and PsycINFO. The inclusion criteria will focus on systematic reviews evaluating the effect of digital behavior change interventions for STI prevention, covering technologies such as mobile phones, apps, and websites. Data extraction will identify key components using the Behavior Change Techniques Taxonomy version 1 (BCTTv1). The protocol is registered in PROSPERO (CRD42023485887).</p><p><strong>Expected results: </strong>This review is expected to provide theoretical insights into behavior change in STI prevention through digital interventions, identifying the most effective techniques. These findings will help design scalable, evidence-based interventions, aimed especially at youth, and guide policymakers in implementing more effective strategies to reduce STI transmission around the world.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e3020"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143597381","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Psychosocial pattern of interprofessional violence in Peruvian healthcare work: A mixed Delphi consensus study.","authors":"Luis Fidel Abregú-Tueros, Peceros Pinto Benigno, Sheyla Karol Abregú-Arroyo","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2986","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.2986","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Studies on psychological violence in health care facilities have focused on the analysis of incidences in specific contexts. Nevertheless, consensus studies on the psychosocial factors of interprofessional violence related to interpersonal conflict and motivational demands are scarce. The aim of this study is to determine by Delphi consensus the psychosocial pattern of interprofessional violence in healthcare work for Peru and its geographical regions.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>A mixed Delphi consensus method was applied, bringing together professionals with experience and knowledge of psychological violence. The study was conducted in three stages and three rounds of Delphi consultation between May 2023 and June 2024. The integration of consensus at regional and national levels was carried out through Graph Network Analysis.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>Up to the third stage of the study, 444 experts in 32 focus groups from 81 health care institutions participated. 70.5% of the participants were women and 27.6% worked in nursing and emergency departments. After the Delphi consensus analysis, we obtained a ranked list of six psychosocial factors of interprofessional violence for Peru and nine for the regions.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>According to the consensus, two of the main psychosocial factors of interprofessional violence in health establishments in the Costa and Forest regions are the devaluation of work and harassment by superiors towards subordinates that induce them to change jobs or resign. Excessive control by colleagues was the first hierarchy for the Sierra region. The differences between geographical regions in Peru and between studies in other countries reflect that the phenomenon of interprofessional violence is very specific and contextual; in the case of Peru the differences between regions may be due to health care facilities with different characteristics (e.g., rural vs. urban facilities).</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"2986"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-07","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143575803","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Innovation and bioethics in surgery: Redefining boundaries for a safe and human-centered future.","authors":"Evelyn Frias-Toral, Alex Enrique Vásconez-García, Melannie Toral-Noristz, Martín Campuzano-Donoso, Ana Karina Zambrano, Claudia Reytor-González, Daniel Simancas-Racines","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3044","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3044","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Since surgery is a complex procedure due to multiple factors, it is more difficult to rigorously evaluate innovative processes in this field than clinical trials of new drugs. Being able to carry out an adequate study design with all its corresponding implications, achieving high-quality standards for these studies, ensuring respect for patients' rights, and verifying that their principles of beneficence, minimization of the risk of harm, justice and autonomy are a challenge for many researchers and professionals involved in the surgical process. Hence, it is advantageous to have guides that guarantee the methodological quality of research on innovative surgical procedures and that these guides include the ethical aspects involved in each of their stages. This review aims to make a historical overview of what has been published on the ethical approach to surgical innovation. In addition, the ethical aspects of the stages of the IDEAL framework for surgical innovation will be explained.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e3044"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-06","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143573489","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Mediterranean diet and breast cancer: A narrative review.","authors":"Claudia Reytor-González, Ana Karina Zambrano, Evelyn Frias-Toral, Martín Campuzano-Donoso, Daniel Simancas-Racines","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3027","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3027","url":null,"abstract":"<p><p>Breast cancer is the second most common neoplasm and the deadliest among women worldwide. Its incidence varies according to human development and is associated with several risk factors, including age, genetic factors, obesity, and dietary habits. Recent research has revealed a significant influence of dietary habits on the onset and progression of this disease, which is why this review aims to comprehensively analyze the available literature to understand better the role played by the mediterranean diet in the development and management of breast cancer. The mediterranean diet has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects, may influence gene regulation, and produce hormonal and intestinal microbiota changes, resulting in improved quality of life for breast cancer patients by alleviating symptoms such as pain, inflammation, and reducing the risk and mortality from this disease. Evidence suggests that greater adherence to the mediterranean diet reduces the risk of breast cancer, as well as an improvement in patients' quality of life and mortality. These findings underscore its potential relevance in the context of dietary patterns associated with breast cancer prevention and management, which could inform considerations for public health policies. Further research is needed to confirm these observations and to understand the underlying mechanisms better.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e3027"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-04","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143557351","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}

{"title":"Handgrip strength values and body composition in Ecuadorian university young adults.","authors":"Diana Fonseca-Pérez, Víctor Sierra-Nieto, Cecilia Arteaga-Pazmiño, Ludwig Álvarez-Córdova, Evelyn Frias-Toral, Daniel Simancas-Racines","doi":"10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3023","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.5867/medwave.2025.02.3023","url":null,"abstract":"<p><strong>Introduction: </strong>Handgrip strength is a key indicator of functional health and overall muscular strength. These parameters are essential for assessing physical performance and health status. This study aims to assess handgrip strength and body composition in young Ecuadorian university adults.</p><p><strong>Methods: </strong>This was a cross-sectional study conducted among university students from the Faculty of Health Sciences at Universidad Católica de Santiago de Guayaquil. Participants completed a self-administered questionnaire for demographic variables. Handgrip strength was assessed in both hands with an hydraulic dynamometer. Body composition was measured using a bioelectrical impedance device.</p><p><strong>Results: </strong>350 participants were included in the study, consisting of 65.5% (n=233) females and 33.4% (n=177) males. The mean age was 22 ± 2.09 years. The mean muscle mass was 24.4 ± 6.9 kg, and the mean fat mass was 22.0 ± 12.9 kg. The visceral fat value was 8.0 ± 3.1 points. The mean handgrip strength for males was 39.6 ± 8.07 kg in the right arm and 38.5 ± 8.07 kg in the left hand, and for females, was 23.0 ±5.57 kg in the right arm and 22.0 ± 5.84 kg in the left arm. Muscle mass positively correlated with handgrip strength in both sexes and both hands, with Rho = 0.813 (p<0.001) for the right arm and Rho = 0.798 (p<0.001) for the left arm.</p><p><strong>Conclusions: </strong>We established reference values for handgrip strength and body composition in healthy young Ecuadorian adults, showing handgrip strength's positive association with muscle mass and anthropometric variables.</p>","PeriodicalId":18597,"journal":{"name":"Medwave","volume":"25 2","pages":"e3023"},"PeriodicalIF":1.2,"publicationDate":"2025-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"143605634","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}