FACTORS ASSOCIATED WITH ABNORMAL ELECTROCARDIOGRAPHIC FINDINGS IN MEDICAL STUDENTS LIVING AT HIGH ALTITUDE IN HUANCAYO-PERU

Díaz-Lazo A.V.; Talledo S.R.S.; Taquire H.F.A.; Castro W.M. · Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana (2026) · DOI: 10.25176/rfmh.v26i3.7794

Resumen

Exposure to high altitude may induce cardiovascular and electrocardiographic changes, the identification of which is relevant in young populations. Objective: To determine the factors associated with electrocardiographic abnormalities in medical students living at high altitude. Methods: An observational, cross-sectional, analytical study was conducted among 213 medical students residing at more than 3,000 meters above sea level. Sociodemographic, behavioral, anthropometric, biological, and physiological characteristics, as well as electrocardiographic findings, were assessed. Associations were evaluated using Poisson regression with robust variance. A p-value < 0.05 was considered statistically significant. Results: The median age was 20.0 years (IQR: 19.0–22.0), and 40.8% of participants were male. The most frequent physiological findings were sinus arrhythmia (21.1%), sinus bradycardia (7.0%), and nonspecific ventricular repolarization abnormality (7.0%). Among minor abnormalities, left posterior fascicular block (10.3%) and left anterior fascicular block (7.5%) were the most frequent. The most common major abnormalities were a short PR interval (0.9%) and left atrial enlargement (0.5%). The prevalence of electrocardiographic abnormalities was higher in males (adjusted prevalence ratio: 2.59; 95% CI: 1.40–4.80; p=0.002). Conclusion: Male sex was the only factor associated with the presence of major or minor electrocardiographic abnormalities among medical students living at high altitude. © Artículo publicado por la Revista de la Facultad de Medicina Humana de la Universidad Ricardo Palma. Es un artículo de acceso abierto, distribuido bajo los términos de la Licencia Creative Commons: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International, CC BY 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), que permite el uso no comercial, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que la obra original sea debidamente citada. Para uso comercial, por favor póngase en contacto con revista.medicina@urp.pe.

Instituciones: Universidad Peruana Los Andes