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Influence of moderate altitude in salivary cortisol levels in third year medical students of the National University of Trujillo, Peru
Author(s) -
Fernández Rodríguez Lissett,
Bardales Zuta Victor,
Hilario Vargas Julio
Publication year - 2015
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.29.1_supplement.683.3
Subject(s) - altitude (triangle) , saliva , effects of high altitude on humans , medicine , inclusion (mineral) , demography , physiology , psychology , geometry , mathematics , sociology , anatomy , social psychology
The goals of this study was to determine the influence of moderate altitude in salivary cortisol levels in third year Medical student at the National University of Trujillo, Peru. A prospective and comparative study. 41 students were randomly selected according to the inclusion criteria. Saliva samples were collected in Cuenca (2550 above sea level), Quito (2850 above sea level) and Trujillo (34 above sea level) during the month of June 2012. 33 samples were collected in Cuenca, 38 in Quito and 10 in Trujillo. Saliva samples were analyzed by ELISA. The mean values of salivary cortisol level in the samples obtained in Cuenca and Quito were significantly differentInterestingly, the mean values of salivary cortisol levels in Trujillo were higher than these in moderate altitude areas. This can be explained by the academic stress of the students at the time of sample collection. These results suggest that moderate altitude influences salivary cortisol levels in third year medical students, wich should be considered when medical students are assigned to work in medical center in high or moderate altitude areas.