Evidence map›Paper›PMID 34260612›Full record

ArticlePloS one2021

Is a higher altitude associated with shorter survival among at-risk neonates?

Iván Dueñas-Espín, Luciana Armijos-Acurio, Estefanía Espín, Fernando Espinosa-Herrera, Ruth Jimbo, Ángela León-Cáceres, Raif Nasre-Nasser, María F Rivadeneira, David Rojas-Rueda, Laura Ruiz-Cedeño and 2 more

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 37% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

2 citing papers in PubMed, 3 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
  2. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors at 5 institutions in 4 countries.

Iván Dueñas-EspínInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.ORCID 0000-0002-6639-727X
Luciana Armijos-AcurioInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Estefanía EspínEscuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas (UDLA) and Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
Fernando Espinosa-HerreraEscuela de Medicina, Facultad de Ciencias de la Salud, Universidad de las Américas (UDLA) and Facultad de Medicina, Universidad Central del Ecuador, Quito, Ecuador.
Ruth JimboInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Ángela León-CáceresInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Raif Nasre-NasserPrograma de Pós-graduação em Ciências Fisiológicas, Instituto de Ciências Biológicas, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande (FURG), Rio Grande, Brasil.ORCID 0000-0002-8350-1008
María F RivadeneiraInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
David Rojas-RuedaDepartment of Environmental and Radiological Health Sciences, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States of America.ORCID 0000-0001-5854-2484
Laura Ruiz-CedeñoPostgrado de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Betzabé TelloInstituto de Salud Pública, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Daniela Vásconez-RomeroPostgrado de Pediatría, Facultad de Medicina, Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador (PUCE), Quito, Ecuador.
Pontificia Universidad Católica del Ecuador · ECCentral University of Ecuador · ECColorado State University · USHeidelberg University · DEUniversidade Federal do Rio Grande · BR

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionWe hypothesize that high altitudes could have an adverse effect on neonatal health outcomes, especially among at-risk neonates. The current study aims to assess the association between higher altitudes on survival time among at-risk neonates.

methodsRetrospective survival analysis. Setting: Ecuadorian neonates who died at ≤28 days of life. Patients: We analyzed the nationwide dataset of neonatal deaths from the Surveillance System of Neonatal Mortality of the Ministry of Public Health of Ecuador, registered from 126 public and private health care facilities, between January 2014 to September 2017. Main outcome measures: We retrospectively reviewed 3016 patients. We performed a survival analysis by setting the survival time in days as the primary outcome and fixed and mixed-effects Cox proportional hazards models to estimate hazard ratios (HR) for each altitude stratum of each one of the health care facilities in which those neonates were attended, adjusting by individual variables (i.e., birth weight, gestational age at birth, Apgar scale at 5 minutes, and comorbidities); and contextual variables (i.e., administrative planning areas, type of health care facility, and level of care).

resultsAltitudes of health care facilities ranging from 80 to <2500 m, 2500 to <2750m, and ≥2750 m were associated respectively with 20% (95% CI: 1% to 44%), 32% (95% CI:<1% to 79%) and 37% (95% CI: 8% to 75%) increased HR; compared with altitudes at <80 m.

conclusionHigher altitudes are independently associated with shorter survival time, as measured by days among at-risk neonates. Altitude should be considered when assessing the risk of having negative health outcomes during neonatal period.

Indexed as

AltitudeInfant MortalityApgar ScoreBirth WeightDelivery, ObstetricEcuadorGestational AgeHumansInfantInfant, NewbornProportional Hazards ModelsRetrospective StudiesRisk FactorsSurvival Analysis

Identifiers

PMID34260612
PMCPMC8279317
OpenAlexW3181315040

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.