Factors associated with post-hospitalization dialysis dependence in ECMO patients who required continuous renal replacement therapy.

OBJECTIVE: This single center retrospective study aimed to describe the variables associated with outpatient dialysis dependence in extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) patients who needed continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT) for acute kidney injury (AKI) during their hospitalization. METHODS: Retrospective study of patients who required ECMO-CRRT. RESULTS: Between the years of 2016 and 2022, 202 patients required ECMO-CRRT. One hundred and six patients (52.5%) survived their hospitalization and were followed up for a median of 391 [133, 1005] days. Eighty-one patients (76.5%) recovered kidney function and were dialysis-free before hospital discharge. Twenty-five patients (23.5%) were hemodialysis-dependent after hospitalization. On multivariate regression analysis, hyperlipidemia (odds ratio, OR 6.08 [1.67-22]) and CRRT duration (OR 1.09 [1.03-1.15]) were associated with the need for dialysis post-hospitalization. In this group, 16 patients eventually became dialysis-free, after a median of 49 [34.7, 78.5] days. These patients had a higher median baseline glomerular filtration rate (GFR) compared to those who never recovered renal function (93 mL/min/1.73 m2 [82.4, 104.3] vs. 63.8 mL/min/1.73 m2 [37.9, 83], p = .009). Their follow-up GFR was lower compared to those who recovered renal function before hospital discharge; (87 mL/min/1.73 m2 [68.2, 98.9] vs. 99 mL/min/1.73 m2 [79, 118], p = .07). CONCLUSIONS: AKI requiring CRRT was associated with high mortality in patients receiving ECMO. Nonetheless, most ECMO survivors became dialysis-free before hospital discharge. Variables associated with the need for outpatient dialysis included hyperlipidemia and prolonged need for CRRT during hospitalization.

Carcass traits and meat quality assessment of two slow-growing chicks strains fed Acheta domesticus larval meal.

Presently, there has been a noticeable rise in the consumption of poultry meat within the general population, particularly focusing on poultry sourced from alternative rearing systems as opposed to intensive ones. This study evaluated the impact of incorporating house cricket (Acheta domesticus,AD) larvae meal into the diet of 2 slow-growing chicken strains on their carcass traits and meat quality. A total of 256 one-day-old male chicks were utilized, with 128 belonging to the Red (R) strain and 128 to the Naked Neck (NN) strain. Chicks from each strain were randomly assigned to 16 replicates of 8 chicks each. Eight replicates were allocated to 2 distinct treatments (n=64 chicks/treatment) based on the diet employed: the control treatments for the Red (R-C) and Naked Neck (NN-C) strains were fed soybean meal, while the other 2 treatments were fed AD meal (R-AD and NN-AD). Three different rations were used throughout the growth cycle of the animals, tailored to meet the nutritional needs of the birds. All chickens were slaughtered at 95 d of age, and eight chickens per treatment were randomly chosen to assess carcass traits and meat quality. Near-infrared reflectance spectroscopy (NIRS) was employed to classify meat based on the feed and the chick strain, achieving a correct discrimination of 100% of the samples. The carcass traits exhibited significant alterations due to the inclusion of insect larval meal in the diet, resulting in reduced values across all parameters for chickens consuming AD meal, irrespective of genotype. The pH and cooking losses were generally higher for chicks fed cricket meal, as occurred with moisture. However, protein content was lower in the meat of chicks consuming cricket meal. Fat content showed lower values for NN chickens. There were minimal differences in the fatty acid profile, with lower C18:3n-3 values for chickens fed cricket meal. Therefore, including Acheta domesticus meal in the diets of slow-growing chick strains is a viable alternative to replace soybean meal. It provides meat quality characteristics comparable to those obtained in conventional systems.

Structural and time-resolved mechanistic investigations of protein hydrolysis by the acidic proline-specific endoprotease from Aspergillus niger.

Proline-specific endoproteases have been successfully used in, for example, the in-situ degradation of gluten, the hydrolysis of bitter peptides, the reduction of haze during beer production, and the generation of peptides for mass spectroscopy and proteomics applications. Here we present the crystal structure of the extracellular proline-specific endoprotease from Aspergillus niger (AnPEP), a member of the S28 peptidase family with rarely observed true proline-specific endoprotease activity. Family S28 proteases have a conventional Ser-Asp-His catalytic triad, but their oxyanion-stabilizing hole shows a glutamic acid, an amino acid not previously observed in this role. Since these enzymes have an acidic pH optimum, the presence of a glutamic acid in the oxyanion hole may confine their activity to an acidic pH. Yet, considering the presence of the conventional catalytic triad, it is remarkable that the A. niger enzyme remains active down to pH 1.5. The determination of the primary cleavage site of cytochrome c along with molecular dynamics-assisted docking studies indicate that the active site pocket of AnPEP can accommodate a reverse turn of approximately 12 amino acids with proline at the S1 specificity pocket. Comparison with the structures of two S28-proline-specific exopeptidases reveals not only a more spacious active site cavity but also the absence of any putative binding sites for amino- and carboxyl-terminal residues as observed in the exopeptidases, explaining AnPEP's observed endoprotease activity.

Computational prediction of ω-transaminase selectivity by deep learning analysis of molecular dynamics trajectories.

We previously presented a computational protocol to predict the enzymatic (enantio)selectivity of an ω-transaminase towards a set of ligands (Ramírez-Palacios et al. (2021) Journal of Chemical Information and Modeling 61(11), 5569-5580) by counting the number of binding poses present in molecular dynamics (MD) simulations that met a defined set of geometric criteria. The geometric criteria consisted of a hand-crafted set of distances, angles and dihedrals deemed to be important for the enzymatic reaction to take place. In this work, the MD trajectories are reanalysed using a deep-learning approach to predict the enantiopreference of the enzyme without the need for hand-crafted criteria. We show that a convolutional neural network is capable of classifying the trajectories as belonging to the 'reactive' or 'non-reactive' enantiomer (binary classification) with a good accuracy (>0.90). The new method reduces the computational cost of the methodology, because it does not necessitate the sampling approach from the previous work. We also show that analysing how neural networks reach specific decisions can aid hand-crafted approaches (e.g. definition of near-attack conformations, or binding poses).

Outcomes of patients with COVID-19 requiring extracorporeal membrane oxygenation and continuous renal replacement therapy in the United States.

BACKGROUND: Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) infection is associated with significant morbidity and mortality. Some patients develop severe acute respiratory distress syndrome and kidney failure requiring the combination of extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) and continuous renal replacement therapy (CRRT). METHODS: Retrospective cohort study of 127 consecutive patients requiring combined ECMO and CRRT support in intensive care units at an ECMO center in Marietta, GA, United States. RESULTS: Sixty and 67 patients with and without COVID-19, respectively, required ECMO-CRRT support. After adjusting for confounding variables, patients with COVID-19 had increased mortality at 30 days (hazard ratio [HR], 5.19; 95% confidence interval [CI], 2.51-10.7; P<0.001) and 90 days (HR, 6.23; 95% CI, 2.60-14.9; P<0.001). CONCLUSIONS: In this retrospective study, patients with COVID-19 who required ECMO-CRRT had increased mortality when compared to patients without COVID-19.

Anatomy of hypothalamic and diencephalic nuclei involved in seasonal fertility regulation in ewes.

In this study, we describe in detail the anatomy of nuclei involved in seasonal fertility regulation (SFR) in ewes. For this purpose, the intergeniculate leaflet of the visual thalamus, the caudal hypothalamic arcuate nucleus, and suprachiasmatic, paraventricular and supraoptic nuclei of the rostral hypothalamus were morphometrically and qualitatively analyzed in Nissl-stained serial sections, in the three anatomical planes. In addition, data were collected on calcium-binding proteins and cell phenotypes after immunostaining alternate serial sections for calretinin, parvalbumin and calbindin. For a complete neuroanatomical study, glial architecture was assessed by immunostaining and analyzing alternate sections for glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) and ionized calcium-binding adapter molecule 1 (IBA1). The results showed a strong microglial and astroglia reaction around the hypothalamic nuclei of interest and around the whole 3rd ventricle of the ewe brain. Moreover, we correlated cytoarchitectonic coordinates of panoramic serial sections with their macroscopic localization and extension in midline sagittal-sectioned whole brain to provide guidelines for microdissecting nuclei involved in SFR.

Super High-Throughput Screening of Enzyme Variants by Spectral Graph Convolutional Neural Networks.

Finding new enzyme variants with the desired substrate scope requires screening through a large number of potential variants. In a typical in silico enzyme engineering workflow, it is possible to scan a few thousands of variants, and gather several candidates for further screening or experimental verification. In this work, we show that a Graph Convolutional Neural Network (GCN) can be trained to predict the binding energy of combinatorial libraries of enzyme complexes using only sequence information. The GCN model uses a stack of message-passing and graph pooling layers to extract information from the protein input graph and yield a prediction. The GCN model is agnostic to the identity of the ligand, which is kept constant within the mutant libraries. Using a miniscule subset of the total combinatorial space (204-208 mutants) as training data, the proposed GCN model achieves a high accuracy in predicting the binding energy of unseen variants. The network's accuracy was further improved by injecting feature embeddings obtained from a language module pretrained on 10 million protein sequences. Since no structural information is needed to evaluate new variants, the deep learning algorithm is capable of scoring an enzyme variant in under 1 ms, allowing the search of billions of candidates on a single GPU.

Exposición a radiación ionizante en médicos residentes de ortopedia en un hospital de referencia.

OBJECTIVE: To describe and analyze the exposure to ionizing radiation of orthopedic residents. METHOD: A prospective study was carried out to evaluate the degree of exposure to ionizing radiation with a bandage dosimeter placed under the lead apron for medical residents for 10 months. An online survey measured the degree of knowledge about radiation safety. RESULTS: 54 resident physicians participated. 55.6% report having knowledge of the existence of radiological protection equipment and 40.7% report that they had previous training in its use. 77.8% use the leaded apron and 31.5% use thyroid protection. 81.5% were positioned less than 1 meter from the source of the X-ray production of the arc in C. The total mean radiation exposure was 2.9 ± 2.17 mSv (95% confidence interval: 1.25-14.28; p = 0.424). CONCLUSIONS: Orthopedic residents present radiation doses below the International Commission on Radiological Protection recommended limit. However, there is a lack of knowledge of radiation protection and as well as a lack of interest and ignorance of the adverse effects of radiation.

OBJETIVO: Describir y analizar la exposición a radiación ionizante de los residentes de ortopedia. MÉTODO: Se realizó un estudio prospectivo para evaluar el grado de exposición a radiación ionizante con un dosímetro de placa colocado debajo del mandil plomado a médicos residentes, por 10 meses. Mediante una encuesta en línea se midió el grado de conocimientos sobre seguridad radiológica. RESULTADOS: Participaron 54 médicos residentes. El 55.6% refiere tener conocimiento de la existencia de equipo de protección radiológica y el 40.7% refiere que tuvo entrenamiento previo en su uso. El 77.8% utiliza el mandil plomado y el 31.5% la protección tiroidea. El 81.5% se posicionó a menos de 1 metro de la fuente de producción de rayos X del arco en C. La exposición a la radiación media total fue de 2.9 ± 2.17 mSv (intervalo de confianza del 95%: 1.25-14.28; p = 0.424). CONCLUSIONES: Los médicos residentes de ortopedia presentan dosis de radiación menores que el límite recomendado por la International Commission on Radiological Protection. Sin embargo, existe una falta de conocimientos sobre protección radiológica, así como falta de interés e ignorancia de los efectos adversos de la radiación.

Use of Acheta domesticus meal as a full soybean substitute in the feeding of slow-growing chicks.

Sustainable poultry meat production involves the use of slow-growing chick strains and the utilization of new protein sources as an alternative to the current monopoly of soybean meal. In this scenario, a study was conducted to assess the effect of replacing soybean meal with domestic cricket (Acheta domesticus) meal on the developing cycle of slow-growing chicks. To this end, a total of 128 one-day-old male chicks (Colorield) were randomly assigned into 16 experimental units, each consisting of 8 chicks, which in turn were grouped into 2 groups fed isoproteic and isoenergetic diets in which the protein source differed: the control group (C) fed soybean meal and the Acheta group (AD) fed Acheta domesticus insect meal as the main protein source. Chicks were slaughtered at 95 d of age. Three different diets (F1, F2 and F3) were used for each experimental group according to the nutritional needs of the birds during their growth. The F1 diet (1-29 d) resulted in higher feed and water intake and higher body weight gain for group C, but a lower feed conversion rate. On the contrary, during F2 (29-60 d) no differences in productive performances were observed between the 2 groups, except for a higher water intake for group C. Finally, during the period corresponding to diet F3 (60-95 d) there were only differences in feed intake, which was higher for the AD group. In conclusion, the substitution of soybean meal for Acheta domesticus meal caused a decrease in feed intake during the first month and consequently a lower body weight. During the first 4 weeks of life of the chicks, a partial replacement of soybean meal may be recommended, since high inclusions of A. domesticus meal in this period seem to be detrimental in young chicks. Given the absence of relevant differences in productive performances between both groups, it could be concluded that the use of A. domesticus cricket meal can be a potential protein alternative to soybean meal.

Taurine, homotaurine, GABA and hydrophobic amino acids content influences "in vitro" antioxidant and SIRT1 modulation activities of enzymatic protein hydrolysates from algae.

Prevention and control of diseases and delaying the signs of ageing are nowadays one of the major goals of biomedicine. Sirtuins, a family of NAD+ dependent deacylase enzymes, could be pivotal targets of novel preventive and therapeutic strategies to achieve such aims. SIRT1 activating and inhibiting compounds, such as polyphenols and bioactive peptides, have been proposed to be involved in the development of many human diseases. The objective of this work was to assess and compare the antioxidant and SIRT1 modulation activities of enzymatic protein hydrolysates (EPHs) from a wide number of algae species (24 commercial samples and 12 samples harvested off the Atlantic coast of northern Spain). High antioxidant activities were observed in EPHs from red and green seaweed species. Moreover, 19 samples exhibited SIRT1 activation, while EPHs from the 16 samples were SIRT1 inhibitors. Pearson's correlation test and Principal Component Analysis revealed significant correlations between (1) total peptide and hydrophobic amino acid content in EPHs and their antioxidant activities, and (2) concentrations of taurine, homotaurine, and amino acid gamma aminobutyric acid in EPHs and their SIRT1 modulation activity.

ST-Elevation Myocardial Infarction With Occluded Culprit Coronary Artery in a Young Patient Recovered From Mild COVID-19: A Case Report.

ST-elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) is a cardiovascular emergency that requires an early reperfusion strategy to reduce mortality and hemodynamic, mechanical, and electrical complications. STEMI is more frequent in men older than 40 years with well-known cardiovascular risk factors such as hypertension, diabetes mellitus, dyslipidemia, and smoking. The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) changed this reality worldwide due to the fact that STEMI cases associated with severe forms of COVID-19 began to be reported, which generally affected the older adult population; in contrast, there is still limited data on young healthy patients recovering from mild COVID-19. The exact mechanism behind the association remains unclear. We present a case of a healthy 29-year-old man with a history of mild COVID-19, diagnosed by reverse-transcription polymerase chain reaction 20 days before his admission with inferior STEMI. Coronary angiography revealed an occluded mid-right coronary artery, and he was successfully treated with a drug-eluting stent. The patient evolved favorably and was discharged on the fifth day of hospitalization.

Shining light on the transcriptome: Molecular regulatory networks leading to a fast-growth phenotype by continuous light in an environmentally sensitive teleost (Atherinopsidae).

Photoperiod can profoundly affect the physiology of teleost fish, including accelerated growth here defined as "fast growth phenotypes". However, molecular regulatory networks (MRNs) and biological processes being affected by continuous illumination and which allow some teleost species evident plasticity to thrive under this condition are not yet clear. Therefore, to provide a broad perspective of such mechanisms, Chirostoma estor fish were raised and sampled for growth under a simulated control (LD) 12 h Light: 12 h Dark or a continuous illumination (LL) 24 h Light: 0 h Dark since fertilization. The experiment lasted 12 weeks after hatching (wah), the time at which fish were sampled for growth, length, and whole-body cortisol levels. Additionally, 3 heads of fish from each treatment were used to perform a de novo transcriptome analysis using Next-Generation Sequencing. Fish in LL developed the fast growth phenotype with significant differences visible at 4 wah and gained 66% more mass by 12 wah than LD fish. Cortisol levels under LL were below basal levels at all times compared to fish in LD, suggesting circadian dysregulation effects. A strong effect of LL was observed in samples with a generalized down-regulation of genes except for Reactive Oxygen Species responses, genome stability, and growth biological processes. To our knowledge, this work is the first study using a transcriptomic approach to understand environmentally sensitive MRNs that mediate phenotypic plasticity in fish submitted to continuous illumination. This study gives new insights into the plasticity mechanisms of teleost fish under constant illumination.

Exposure of rams in sexual rest to sexually activated males in spring increases plasma LH and testosterone concentrations.

Eight stimulating rams, and twelve stimulated rams, were used to determine whether a similar endocrine response to the introduction of sexually active males in spring in a flock of ewes is observed in a flock of rams. The stimulating rams (n = 4) were induced into a sexually active state by exposure to 2 months of long days (16 h light/d) (15 December-15 February). At the end of the long-day period, rams were returned to the natural photoperiod. Control-stimulating rams (n = 4) were kept under the natural photoperiod. On April 20, stimulated rams were divided into 2 groups, and joined with activated (ACT; n = 6) or control stimulating rams (C; n = 6). On the day of ram introduction, stimulated rams were blood sampled for 8 h at 20-min intervals, from 4 h before to 4 h after ram introduction, and next day from 24 to 28 h after ram introduction, and analyzed for plasma LH concentrations, and 10, 20 and 30 days after ram introduction to measure plasma testosterone levels. Mean (±SEM) plasma LH concentrations (ng/ml) of stimulated rams were similar during the 4 h before stimulating-ram introduction (ACT: 0.59 ± 0.03; C: 0.53 ± 0.04; P > 0.05). The introduction of the photoperiod-treated stimulating rams increased LH concentrations of stimulated rams during the 4 h after their introduction (1.14 ± 0.37) compared with the C group (0.51 ± 0.03; P < 0.05), especially during the first hour (ACT: 0.93 ± 0.16; C: 0.49 ± 0.03; P < 0.05), and during the blood sampling period 24-28 h after ram introduction (0.75 ± 0.07 vs. 0.58 ± 0.04; P < 0.05). Before the introduction of stimulating rams, the LH pulse frequencies and amplitudes did not differ between groups; however, LH pulsatility was higher at 4 h (0.58 ± 0.11 pulses/h; P < 0.05), and had trend to be higher 24 h (0.50 ± 0.06) (P = 0.10) after the introduction of the photoperiod-treated stimulating rams compared with the control-stimulating rams (0.29 ± 0.08 and 0.29 ± 0.10, respectively). As for LH pulses, there was an effect of group (P < 0.05) on LH amplitude, which presented a trend to be higher in ACT rams 4 h after ram introduction (1.68 ± 0.30; P < 0.10) and higher 24 h (1.07 ± 0.08; P < 0.05) after ram introduction, compared with LH amplitudes of C rams (0.71 ± 0.06 and 0.82 ± 0.07, respectively). Plasma testosterone concentrations of rams exposed to photoperiod-treated activated rams were higher than those of rams exposed to control-stimulating rams, at 4 h, 20 and 30 days after ram introduction (P < 0.05). In conclusion, sexually active rams in spring are able to stimulate LH and testosterone secretion of other rams in sexual rest, a phenomenon we called "ram-to-ram effect".

Efficiency of Artificial Insemination at Natural Estrus in Organic Churra Ewes.

Hormonal treatments used in the artificial insemination (AI) of sheep can cause several physiological problems that can affect negatively fertility and animal health; however, AI protocols based on the detection of natural estrus offer a more sustainable option and can achieve high fertility. In this study, an AI protocol at natural estrus in organic Churra sheep was performed. In the first phase (AI protocol development), 125 ewes were exocervically inseminated, and their fertility was assessed based on the following factors: number of AI, physiological state, body condition, estrus detection-AI interval, and vaginal fluids in cervix. That protocol was repeated for six consecutive years. In all individuals, fertilities based on the timing of insemination after estrus detection were very high. Lactating ewes produced better results than did dry ewes, which was probably because of the better feeding of the former. In addition, double insemination increased the fertility of ewes whose estrus was detected within 16 h of onset. Body condition and amount of vaginal fluid were correlated with fertility. Exocervical inseminations at natural estrus can produce acceptable fertility and prolificity in Churra ewes.

Non-Compaction Cardiomyopathy and Multiple Sclerosis: Associated or Independent Diseases? A Case Report.

Non-compaction cardiomyopathy (NCCM) is associated with neuromuscular disorders; however, there has been little investigation on its association with other neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis. We present the case of a 46-year-old woman with a history of multiple sclerosis who developed heart failure and was diagnosed with non-compaction cardiomyopathy.

A pilot study of changes in urinary podocalyxin levels during normal pregnancy and labor.

Introduction: Increased urinary podocalyxin, a surrogate marker of podocyte detachment, has been shown in preeclampsia and eclampsia, but there is a paucity of data of the effect of normal pregnancy on its urinary excretion. We aimed to describe these changes in this pilot study. Methods: Urine podocalyxin levels were measured in 115 pregnant women. Of these, 12 women were in the second trimester of gestation, 57 in the third trimester and 46 women were in labor. Results: The median [IQR] urinary podocalyxin levels were 0.81 [0.27, 3.68], 0.92 [0.44, 5.49] and 64.7 [30.5, 106.3] ng/mg creatinine in the second trimester, third trimester, and during labor, respectively (p<0.0001). Patients with hematuria during labor had higher levels of urinary podocalyxin (128.6 [79.8, 169.6] ng/mg creatinine. There was a moderate correlation between gestational age and urinary podocalyxin levels (r=0.63, p<0.0001). Conclusion: Urinary podocalyxin levels were low in normal pregnancies and increased significantly during labor and with hematuria.

Bacterial and parasite co-infection in Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster) by Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator.

BACKGROUND: Bacterial infections are responsible of high economic losses in aquaculture. Mexican golden trout (Oncorhynchus chrysogaster) is a threatened native trout species that has been introduced in aquaculture both for species conservation and breeding for production and for which no studies of bacterial infections have been reported. CASE PRESENTATION: Fish from juvenile stages of Mexican golden trout showed an infectious outbreak in a farm in co-culture with rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss), showing external puntiform red lesions around the mouth and caudal pedunculus resembling furuncles by Aeromonas spp. and causing an accumulated mortality of 91%. Isolation and molecular identification of bacteria from lesions and internal organs showed the presence of Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator isolated from a single individual. All bacterial isolates were resistant to amoxicillin-clavulanic acid and cefazoline. P. shigelloides was resistant to third generation ß-lactamics. CONCLUSIONS: This is the first report of coinfection by Aeromonas bestiarum, Aeromonas sobria, Plesiomonas shigelloides and Ichthyobodo necator in an individual of Mexican golden trout in co-culture with rainbow trout. Resistance to ß-lactams suggests the acquisition of genetic determinants from water contamination by human- or livestock-associated activities.

Prevalencia y caracterización del riesgo cardiovascular en una población rural / Prevalence and characterization of cardiovascular risk in a rural population

Resumen Introducción: Las enfermedades cardiovasculares son la primera causa de muerte en el mundo. Su incidencia depende de factores de riesgo, los cuales pueden ser evaluados mediante escalas de riesgo cardiovascular que, de acuerdo con este, permiten establecer estrategias de prevención. Sin embargo, están dirigidas principalmente a áreas urbanas de Colombia donde se ha estudiado la carga de la enfermedad, y muy poco a las áreas rurales. Objetivo: Describir las características clínicas de una población rural que asiste a un programa rural de riesgo cardiovascular. Método: Estudio transversal en 540 participantes de un programa de riesgo cardiovascular de nivel primario. Se obtuvieron los datos sociodemográficos, clínicos y bioquímicos. Se estimó el riesgo cardiovascular mediante la escala de Framingham. Resultados: La hipertensión arterial fue el factor de riesgo de mayor prevalencia entre los participantes (95.5%); de ellos, el 70% presentaba un control adecuado de las cifras de presión arterial. En segundo lugar, se encontró sobrepeso/obesidad, con una proporción mayor en mujeres que en hombres (56.4% vs. 70.7%, p = 0.001). El tabaquismo fue de muy baja prevalencia (0.09%), al igual que las complicaciones en órgano blanco (hombres 8% vs. mujeres 2.2%, p = 0.001). El 75% de la población (n = 409) se estratificó como riesgo bajo de acuerdo con la escala de Framingham. Conclusiones: En esta población, la hipertensión arterial, el sobrepeso/obesidad y la coexistencia de diabetes mellitus tipo 2 tienen una prevalencia similar a la de otras poblaciones rurales y urbanas. El estrato de bajo riesgo cardiovascular agrupa a la mayoría de individuos y el tabaquismo es de muy baja prevalencia.

Abstract Introduction: Cardiovascular diseases are the leading cause of death in the world. Its presentation depends on risk factors, which can be evaluated using cardiovascular risk scores and according to its risk establish preventive strategies. However, these strategies have been mainly addressed to urban areas, where the burden of disease has been studied, and not so much to rural areas of Colombia. Objective: To describe the clinical characteristics of a rural population that attends a rural cardiovascular risk program. Method: It was performed a cross-sectional study in 540 participants in a primary-level cardiovascular risk program. Sociodemographic, clinical, and biochemical data were collected. Cardiovascular risk was estimated using the Framingham score. Results: High blood pressure was the highest risk factor in prevalence among the participants (95.5%), of whom 70% had adequate blood pressure values. Overweight/obesity was the second more prevalent risk factor, with a higher proportion in women respect to men (56.4 vs. 70.7%, p = 0.001). Smoking had a low prevalence (0.09%), as well as target organ dysfunction (men 8% vs. women 2.2%, p = 0.001). The 75% of the population (n = 409) was classified in low risk, according to the Framingham score. Conclusions: In this population hypertension, overweight/obesity and the coexistence of type 2 diabetes mellitus had similar prevalence respect to other rural and urban populations. The lower cardiovascular risk stratum grouped most of the participants and smoking had a very low prevalence.