Scientific production of Peruvian medical schools located at high altitude

del Olmo M.G.B.-D.; Gamero-Tejeda D.J.; Chávez–Velásquez E.; Vizcarra–Vizcarra C.A. · Revista Cubana de Medicina Militar (2026)

Resumen

Introduction: Scientific publication in Peru is low, and scientific production in medical schools in high-altitude cities is unknown. Objective: To determine the scientific production of graduates from medical schools at Peruvian universities located at high altitudes. Methods: A bibliometric study of the theses of Peruvian medical graduates from cities located at high altitude was carried out in 2019. The characteristics of the theses, authors, and advisors were collected, and it was verified whether the theses had been published by November 2023, using Google Scholar (bibliographic search engine) and SciELO (online scientific library). A bibliometric analysis was performed in Scopus on authors and advisors with publications, and VOSviewer. Categorical variables were described using absolute and relative frequencies and the Z and chi-square statistical test was used to compare proportions (p < 0.05). Results: Of 117 theses evaluated, 25.6% were from Los Andes Peruvian University. No thesis addressed a pathology specific to altitude; however, 11.1% of the theses included the terms “high altitude”, ‘altitude’ or “masl” in their title. Most of them were in the clinical area, in adult population, retrospective, cross-sectional and descriptive. There was little experience in publication in students (3.4%) and advisors (36.2%). Only 0.85% of the theses were published in a biomedical journal. Conclusions: Peruvian universities located at high altitude study little high-altitude pathology and have limited scientific publication.

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional de San Agustín de Arequipa; Universidad Católica de Santa María