Browsing by Subject "Ecuador"

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    Chronic Occupational Exposure to Traffic Pollution Is Associated with Increased Carotid Intima-Media Thickness in Healthy Urban Traffic Control Police
    (MDPI, 2023-09-01) Balogun, Abdulrazak O.; Weigel, M. Margaret; Estévez, Edmundo; Armijos, Rodrigo X.; Community and Global Health, School of Public Health
    Urban traffic officers in many low- and middle-income countries are exposed to high levels of traffic-related air pollutants (TRAP) while working vehicle control on heavily congested streets. The impact of chronic TRAP exposure on the cardiovascular health, including the carotid intima-media thickness (CIMT), of this outdoor occupational group remains unclear. This cross-sectional study compared the average mean and maximum CIMT measurements of two groups of relatively young, healthy traffic police (32 ± 7 years; 77% male) in Quito, Ecuador, who were without clinical evidence of serious cardiovascular or other disease. Previously published background data on PM10 (a TRAP surrogate) indicated that street levels of the pollutant were several orders of magnitude higher at the street intersections worked by traffic police compared to those working only in an office. Accordingly, officers permanently assigned to daily traffic control duties requiring them to stand 0–3 m from heavily trafficked street intersections were assigned to the high exposure group (n = 61). The control group (n = 54) consisted of officers from the same organization who were permanently assigned to office duties inside an administration building. Mean and maximum CIMT were measured with ultrasound. General linear models were used to compare the CIMT measurements of the high exposure and control groups, adjusting for covariates. The adjusted average mean and maximum CIMT measures of the high exposure group were increased by 11.5% and 10.3%, respectively, compared to the control group (p = 0.0001). These findings suggest that chronic occupational exposure to TRAP is associated with increased CIMT in traffic police. This is important since even small increases in arterial thickening over time may promote earlier progression to clinical disease and increased premature mortality risk.
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    Country Report 2018: Ecuador
    (2018) Rowland, Michel; Chavez, Wendy
    In order to operate, POs need to have their statutes approved by the appropriate authority. The documentation required to approve the statutes are: 1) minutes of the Constitutive General Assembly of the organization, signed by all the founding members; 2) the proposed statutes; and 3) a certified copy of the document or documents that prove the organization’s assets (except in the case of organizations that work in the defense of vulnerable groups).
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    Human papillomavirus infection and its association with cervical dysplasia in Ecuadorian women attending a private cancer screening clinic
    (Scielo, 2009-07) Brown, C.R.; Leon, M.L.; Muñoz, K.; Fagioni, A.; Amador, L.G.; Frain, B.; Tu, W.; Qadadri, B.; Brown, D.R.; Pathology and Laboratory Medicine, School of Medicine
    Women living in Latin American countries bear a disproportionate burden of cervical cancer, a condition caused by infection with the human papillomavirus (HPV). We performed a study in Santa Elena, Guayas (currently Santa Elena Province), Ecuador, to determine how often HPV could be detected in women attending a private cancer screening clinic. Participants underwent a Pap test, and vaginal and cervical swabs were performed for HPV testing by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Each participant completed a verbally administered survey. The mean age of 302 participants was 37.7 years (range 18 to 78 years). The majority of cervical and vaginal specimens contained sufficient DNA to perform PCR. Overall, 24.2% of the participants had either a cervical or vaginal swab that tested positive for HPV. In general, there was a good correlation between the HPV types detected in the cervical and vaginal swabs from the participants, but vaginal swabs were more likely to contain HPV DNA than were cervical swabs. The high-risk HPV types 16, 52, 58, and 59 and the low-risk HPV types 62, 71, 72, and 83 were the most frequently detected HPV types. The number of lifetime sexual partners was positively associated with detection of any HPV type, detection of oncogenic HPV, and abnormal Pap smears. Further studies are needed to determine if these results are representative of all Ecuadorian women and to determine if cervical cancers in Ecuadorian women are caused by the same HPV types found in the swab specimens obtained in this study.