The growth of children living in two high-altitude communities associated with an active copper mine in southern Peru was examined. In the community directly associated with mining operations, nutritional and health conditions were believed to be relatively favorable as a result of the substantial mine-related infrastructure that had developed over the previous 12 years. In contrast, few such benefits were available in the other community, which provides limited part-time labor at the mine. Anthropometric data, including measurements of height, weight, skinfold thicknesses, upper arm circumference, and chest dimensions, and determination of bone age, were collected from a total of 880 children between the ages of 4 and 18 years. There were significant differences between the two communities, with those in the mining community exhibiting significantly greater height and weight, a higher level of body fat, and more rapid skeletal development. Among children over the age of 12 years, a plateau in height was seen, suggesting that the benefits to growth resulting from mining-related development were more noticeable in younger children. Compared with Peruvian high-altitude populations examined during the 1960s, both samples from the present study were substantially taller and heavier, suggesting that despite local differences in socioeconomic conditions between the communities studied, overall conditions for growth are generally more favorable than those that existed among Peruvian high-altitude populations surveyed in the 1960s.

This study was conducted to establish reference values for percent oxygen saturation of hemoglobin (SaO2, %) and heart rate (HR, bpm) in children living at high altitude (4,100 m) and to relate possible differences in the variables with ethnic origin. Healthy children from a mine-located school (Tintaya, n = 417), a nearby school (Marquiri, n = 474), and a rural Andean community (Nuñoa, n = 373) were investigated. The samples included different ethnic combinations, with the Nuñoa children having a predominant Quechua ancestry. Mean SaO2 for all ages was substantially lower in all high altitude children compared to values considered normal for sea level. Among the three samples, SaO2 was higher (91.3 +/- 2.7) and HR was lower (84.8 +/- 13.6) in Nuñoa than in Tintaya (SaO2, 89.8 +/- 2.5; HR, 91.7 +/- 14.9) and Marquiri (SaO2, 89.6 +/- 3.1; HR, 88.5 +/- 12.9) (P < 0.05). There was no sex difference and only a weak age-dependent trend for SaO2. Values considered abnormal at sea level were observed in all healthy high-altitude children. Higher SaO2 and lower HR in Nuñoa children may suggest a better degree of acclimatization to altitude.

Non-echocardiographic studies in healthy high altitude children have shown right ventricle predominance during infancy and childhood, associated to asymptomatic pulmonary hypertension and an increased pulmonary artery pressure. Systematic studies on echocardiography in such children have not been performed. In a cross-sectional study, we measured right and left heart morphologic and functional parameters, through M-mode, two-dimensional Doppler, and color Doppler echocardiographies, in a population of 321 healthy children ranging in age from 2 months to 19 years and living at high altitude (Tintaya, Peru, 4,100 m). Structured ad-hoc interviews were done to obtain information on medical history, patterns of exposure to high altitude of children and their parents and grandparents, place and altitude of pregnancy and birth, and housing conditions. A complete physical examination was performed before echocardiography. Hemoglobin concentration, pulse oximetry, and anthropometry were measured in all participating children. The right and left heart morphologic and functional echocardiographic measurements expressed by age and by body surface area were generally similar to sea-level reference populations. They were not consistently influenced by sex, nutritional status, chest dimensions, pulse oximetry, hemoglobin concentration, ethnicity, length of residence at high altitude, or parental history of exposure to high altitude. Most children had at least some degree of high-altitude ancestry as assessed by ethnicity and history of parental exposure to altitude. The cardiovascular development at high altitude in children with some degree of high-altitude ancestry seems to follow a pattern similar to sea-level children. The results can be used as reference values to interpret individual echocardiographic studies in comparable children living in similar settings.

The present report evaluates a method for the determination of the maximal velocity of the outward sodium, potassium, chlorine (Na-K-Cl) cotransport in erythrocytes. The loading procedure was carried out using the ionophore nystatin. The technical error for this assay, based on concurrent analysis of randomized blind duplicate samples, was 8.04% of the sample mean and 27.5% of the sample standard deviation. The assay was stable over time and reproducible. Fasting was not necessary. The ratio of intra- to interindividual variances was small. The cells can be safely preserved in an appropriate preservation solution without modification of the ion transport assay. The assay appears to be adequate for use in large-scale field trials.

The growth of children living in two high-altitude communities associated with an active copper mine in southern Peru was examined. In the community directly associated with mining operations, nutritional and health conditions were believed to be relatively favorable as a result of the substantial mine-related infrastructure that had developed over the previous 12 years. In contrast, few such benefits were available in the other community, which provides limited part-time labor at the mine. Anthropometric data, including measurements of height, weight, skinfold thicknesses, upper arm circumference, and chest dimensions, and determination of bone age, were collected from a total of 880 children between the ages of 4 and 18 years. There were significant differences between the two communities, with those in the mining community exhibiting significantly greater height and weight, a higher level of body fat, and more rapid skeletal development. Among children over the age of 12 years, a plateau in height was seen, suggesting that the benefits to growth resulting from mining-related development were more noticeable in younger children. Compared with Peruvian high-altitude populations examined during the 1960s, both samples from the present study were substantially taller and heavier, suggesting that despite local differences in socioeconomic conditions between the communities studied, overall conditions for growth are generally more favorable than those that existed among Peruvian high-altitude populations surveyed in the 1960s.