Sea level and acute responses to hypoxia: do they predict physiological responses and acute mountain sickness at altitude?

Grant, S., MacLeod, N., Kay, J.W. , Watt, M., Patel, S., Paterson, A. and Peacock, A. (2002) Sea level and acute responses to hypoxia: do they predict physiological responses and acute mountain sickness at altitude? British Journal of Sports Medicine, 36(2), pp. 141-146. (doi: 10.1136/bjsm.36.2.141) (PMID:11916899) (PMCID:PMC1724484)

Abstract

Objectives: To compare a range of physiological responses to acute sea level hypoxia at simulated altitudes with the same physiological responses and acute mountain sickness (AMS) scores measured at altitude (similar to the simulated altitudes) during a 17 day trek in the Himalayas. Methods: Twenty men and women aged 18–54 years took part in the study. End tidal CO2 tension (PETCO2) and saturated oxygen (SaO2) were measured using a capnograph. Observations made at sea level and some simulated altitudes were compared with those in the Himalayas. Pairwise correlations were used to examine the correlation between variables and regression, with 95% prediction intervals providing information on how well one variable could be predicted from another for a given subject. Results: There was only a significant correlation for a few comparisons. The 95% prediction intervals for individual SaO2 values at a range of simulated altitudes were fairly wide going from ± 4% to ± 5%. All of the correlations between laboratory and Himalayan PETCO2 values were not statistically significant. There was a significant correlation for the relation between SaO2and PETCO2 at sea level for the laboratory data (r=-0.51; p=0.05). For the Himalayan data, there were significant correlations at Namche Bazaar (3450 m; day 3) (r=-0.56; p=0.01) and Dingboche (4300 m; day 6) (r=-0.48; p=0.03). The correlation between SaO2 and PETCO2 and AMS was generally poor. Conclusions: The results indicate that limited information can be gained on a subject's response to altitude by assessing physiological variables at sea level and a range of simulated altitudes before the subject carries out a trek at altitude.

• Item Type: Articles
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Peacock, Professor Andrew and Kay, Dr James
• Authors: Grant, S., MacLeod, N., Kay, J.W., Watt, M., Patel, S., Paterson, A., and Peacock, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Cardiovascular & Metabolic Health; College of Science and Engineering > School of Mathematics and Statistics > Statistics
• Journal Name: British Journal of Sports Medicine
• Publisher: BMJ Publishing Group
• ISSN: 0306-3674
• ISSN (Online): 1473-0480