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Objective: To estimate the prevalence of chronic neck pain (CNP) among the adult population in Peru during the post-coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) restriction period compared with that during the pre-pandemic period and evaluate its association with prolonged digital devices connected to the internet (DDCI) screen viewing. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional study using a representative sample of adults living in Peru in November 2022. A structured survey was employed to identify CNP, and the exposure variable was set as the duration of DDCI screen viewing. The McNemar test was used to compare CNP prevalence pre- and post-COVID-19 restrictions, and ordinal logistic regression was used to evaluate its association with prolonged screen viewing. Results: A total of 1,202 individuals participated, with 52.8% females and 79.9% residing in urban areas. Following the restrictions, the prevalence of CNP occurring daily or almost daily and at least once a week was 14.8% and 27.8%, respectively (95% confidence Interval [95% CI], 12.6–17.3 and 24.9–30.9), representing a significant increase (p<0.001) compared with pre-pandemic estimates. Notably, among those viewing DDCI screens for ≥8 hours, the odds ratio for CNP frequency escalation compared with those who did not or rarely view screens was 1.61 (95% CI, 1.04–2.50; p=0.033). Conclusion: Approximately 4 of 10 adults in Peru experienced CNP following the lifting of COVID-19 social restrictions, more than double the pre-pandemic prevalence. Furthermore, prolonged viewing of DDCI screens increased the risk of having this condition. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objective.: Motivation for the study. There are several criteria for metabolic syndrome in adolescents, each reporting different prevalence rates and not necessarily coinciding with each other. Main findings. We studied school children from the city of Cajamarca at 2750 meters above sea level. The five criteria for metabolic syndrome coincided in six of the 397 (1.5%) adolescents. The criteria generated prevalence rates ranging from 3.0% to 17.1%. The criteria with near perfect concordance were those from the American Heart Association criteria and those modified by Cook. Implications. The diagnosis of metabolic syndrome in adolescents is complex, even more so among those residing at high altitudes. . To determine the concordance between five diagnostic criteria for metabolic syndrome (MS) among teenagers from a Peruvian high Andes region., Materials and Methods.: A cross-sectional study was carried out with secondary data from an intervention study in two public schools in 2019. We included 397 teenagers who lived in the city of Cajamarca, in the Andean region of Peru. We applied the criteria from the Adult Treatment Panel III (ATP-III) modified by Cook, the International Diabetes Federation (IDF), the American Heart Association (AHA), Ferranti, and the World Health Organization (WHO). The point prevalence and interval prevalence were estimated with the five criteria. The Kappa concordance coefficient with an 95% confidence interval (95%CI) was estimated., Results.: The Ferranti criterion identified 17.1% (95%CI: 13.4 to 20.8) of teenagers with MS, followed by the ATP-III criterion with 4.3% (95%CI: 2.3 to 6.3); the other criteria identified a lower frequency. The best concordance was found between the AHA and ATP-III criteria (k = 0.905); the WHO and IDF criteria had a coefficient of 0.628. The five criteria coincided in classifying six adolescents (1.5%) as MS., Conclusions.: The AHA and ATP-III criteria modified by Cook had almost perfect concordance, which was also found for both sexes. The ATP-III, Ferranti, IDF, AHA and WHO criteria agree in less than 2% when identifying MS in the same group of adolescents.

Objective.: To estimate the impact of a school-based nutritional and healthy lifestyle intervention to increase the proportions of adolescents free of components of the metabolic syndrome., Materials and Methods.: We conducted a pre-experimental study in a representative sample of adolescents from two schools in a high Andean district of Peru (Cajamarca city); 388 students completed the intervention and the baseline and post-intervention measurement. The intervention had nine thematic modules; each module was developed in an educational session of 45 minutes every two weeks. We used the National Cholesterol Education Program Expert Panel and Adult Treatment Panel III criteria for metabolic syndrome. We used paired proportions comparison (McNemar test) to determine the impact of the intervention., Results.: At baseline, 20.4% (95% CI: 16.2 to 24.5) students had no metabolic syndrome components, post-intervention this proportion increased to 32,5% (95% CI: 27.7 to 37.3), the difference in proportions was 12.1% (95% CI: 7.5 to 16.8; p<0.001). The prevalence of metabolic syndrome was 4.6% (95% CI: 2.4 to 6.9) at baseline, while post-intervention was 2.3% (95%CI: 0.7 to 3.9). During the analysis of components, the greatest reduction was observed in the proportion of hypertriglyceridemia (difference in proportions: 21.9%, 95%CI: 16.9 to 26.9, p <0.001); we also found a significant reduction in arterial hypertension (difference in proportions: 3.1%, 95% CI: 0.6 to 5.6, p=0.025). In the other components, there were no significant differences., Conclusions.: The school-based intervention increased in 59.3% the proportion of students free of any component of the metabolic syndrome.

Objetives: To measure the scientific production of the Instituto Nacional de Salud del Perú (INS) through bibliometric indicators of production, collaboration and impact., Materials and Methods: Bibliometric study of original publications from journals indexed in Scopus and Scielo Peru in the period between 1998 and 2018. The production indicators were: the number of publications per year and per subperiod (1998-2008 and 2009- 2018), by theme, and by journal. The collaboration indicators were: the co-authorship index, the number of institutional signatures, the national and international collaboration rate, the proportion of first-time authorship with INS affiliation. The impact indicators were: the number of citations per year, citation/document index, the proportion of documents ever cited and the citation speed., Results: A total of 618 publications had at least one author with INS affiliation. From these, 55.9% (346/618) were published in Peruvian scientific journals and 30 INS authors were major producers. From the publications total, 49.0% (303/618) had a first author with INS affiliation. Regarding the subject of investigation, 132 (21.4%) publications were on vector-borne diseases; 9.7% (60), on tuberculosis; and 9.5% (59), on zoonoses. The international collaboration rate was 38.8%. The ratio of citations/documents was 12.8 for the entire period. The H index of publications with INS participation was 37., Conclusions: In the last two decades, the contribution of the INS was focused on infectious diseases. On the other hand, it is required to strengthen the productivity indexes of INS authors, as well as consolidating the new thematic lines that they have developed in the last decade. This effort will allow the INS to improve its function as a public research institute.

Scientific institutions and their achievements are built on people and their stories. In this case, Dr. César Náquira Velarde constitutes a prominent figure in Peru's public health, to which he contributed until days before his departure at 85 years of age. Dr. Náquira actively participated in the founding of the Daniel A. Carrión Institute of Tropical Medicine of the National University of San Marcos from where - through re search and teaching - he has trained doctors and specialists in the field of parasitology and tropical medici ne. However, his greatest contribution was in the study of Chagas disease. He also served as a public official and decision maker, as he was head of the National Institute of Health of Peru and permanent technical advisor of the Ministry of Health of Peru, in the areas of his specialty. We highlight his role as a teacher for many generations of doctors and his authority as an expert in the field of medical parasitology.

The Peruvian Journal of Experimental Medicine and Public Health (RPMESP) was first published in 1942 under the name Journal of Experimental Medicine. Since then, it has been the official scientific dissemination vehicle of the Peruvian National Institute of Health, which was founded in 1936. Telémaco Battistini Sánchez was directly involved in both historical events. Based on some passages of his personal history and on the historical juncture of global and Latin American science between 1865 and 1950, we can understand why the term "experimental medicine" is used in the name of said journal. The aim of this article is to describe a series of events in the history of science which started off in Europe and continued in Peru and triggered the decision to give the name 'Journal of Experimental Medicine' to a journal that since its inception has published observational studies-more so in recent decades-, especially in the field of public health, while the number of publications of studies in experimental medicine has drastically decreased.

Objectives: To characterize, by means of bibliometric indicators, the scientific publications of the Peruvian Experimental Medicine and Public Health Journal, 2010-2017., Materials and Methods: A bibliometric study in which the publications were retrieved from the data base of Scopus. The bibliometric production indicators were: number of publications per year and type of publication. Brief original and original articles were considered as units of analysis based on number of authors, institutional affiliation, and country of corresponding author, type of research and study design. The impact indicators were: number of citations by publication according to Scopus, metric of impact, such as CiteScore, Scimago Journal & Country Rank (SJR), and SciELO Public Health., Results: A total of 1,045 publications were made by the RPMESP: 40.1% of publications corresponded to original articles and original briefs; 1,837 authors contributed with these publications; 134 institutional affiliations were declared by the corresponding authors; 48,0% were research works on determinants of a health problem; on the other hand, 90.5% corresponded to observational studies. The publications analyzed received 945 citations, of which 78.5% were for publications for the 2010-2013 period., Conclusions: Four of ten publications of the RPMESP correspond to brief original or original articles. According to diverse formulas of calculation, the impact metric of the RPMESP shows an ascending trend; however, their magnitude is lower versus other regional journals.

Inequalities in terms of access and quality of healthcare persist, especially among Andean populations, such as the community of Chopcca. Here, we describe the perception of healthcare provided in medical facilities as well as the practices linked to health care in residents of settlements in the Huancavelica region. We carried out a cross-sectional study by means of a structured questionnaire administered to 775 residents of urban and rural towns of the Yauli and Paucará districts. 68.7% refer always using medicinal plants to cure themselves; 86.7% never made a "payment" to Mother Earth; 81.4% has not practiced coca qaway or sara qaway. 88.5% of respondents visit the medical facility when they fall ill. 57.4% refer that the healthcare staff always transmits confidence and security, this proportion is higher in rural vs. urban areas (64.6% versus 28.8%). The communities under study demand the healthcare services offered by the formal system; nevertheless, traditional cultural practices persist, being the most important one the use of medicinal plants.