Demography and research with high altitude populations

Gf, De Jong

doi:10.1080/19485565.1970.9987853

Cited by 8 publications

(6 citation statements)

References 11 publications

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“…USA 95 (1998) densities between 1 and 10,000 people͞km 2 with a persistent modal density of 100-200 people͞km 2 at elevations Ͼ300 m. As elevation decreases below 300 m, the modal population density increases rapidly to Ͼ500 people͞km 2 below 100 m above sea level. The distribution of log 10 (people͞km 2 ) is asymmetric at all elevations, with modal densities consistently displaced toward high values. While there is a gradual increase in the minimum population density (for a given elevation) with increasing elevation, the maximum population density decreases very rapidly with increasing elevation in the lowest 300 m and fluctuates widely at higher elevations.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

“…2c). The number of people diminishes gradually as population density decreases below 100 people͞km 2 and drops rapidly as population density increases above 1,000 people͞km 2 . Approximately 1.88 ϫ 10 9 people, or 33.5% of world population, live within 100 vertical meters of sea level (Fig.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Altitude affects geophysical hazards for humans (1)(2)(3). The location of 11 of the world's 15 cities with more than 10 million people (4) (Tokyo, New York, Bombay, Shanghai, Los Angeles, Calcutta, Buenos Aires, Seoul, Lagos, Osaka, and Rio de Janeiro) suggests that much of the population lives at low elevations near coastlines.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Hypsographic demography: The distribution of human population by altitude

Cohen

Small

1998

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

243

142

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The global distribution of the human population by elevation is quantified here. As of 1994, an estimated 1.88 ؋ 10 9 people, or 33.5% of the world's population, lived within 100 vertical meters of sea level, but only 15.6% of all inhabited land lies below 100 m elevation. The median person lived at an elevation of 194 m above sea level. Numbers of people decreased faster than exponentially with increasing elevation. The integrated population density (IPD, the number of people divided by the land area) within 100 vertical meters of sea level was significantly larger than that of any other range of elevations and represented far more people. A significant percentage of the low-elevation population lived at moderate population densities rather than at the highest densities of central large cities. Assessments of coastal hazards that focus only on large cities may substantially underestimate the number of people who could be affected.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 97%

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Hypsographic demography: The distribution of human population by altitude

Cohen

Small

1998

Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. U.S.A.

243

142

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“…Several demographic, social, and biological characteristics of populations are known to interact with altitude, notably socioeconomical level, nutrition, ethnicity, body size, and mean birth weight [De-Jong, 1970]. This work was intended to compare the prevalence of specific types of congenital anomalies at low and high altitudes in South America, taking into consideration ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and prenatal growth of the populations studied.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Altitude as a risk factor for congenital anomalies

1999

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The birth prevalence of specific types of congenital anomalies at low and high altitudes in South America were compared after adjustment for prenatal growth, ethnicity, and socioeconomic status. The material includes all 1,668,722 consecutive births occurring in 53 hospitals participating in the Latin-American Collaborative Study of Congenital Malformations (ECLAMC), having registered at least 100 malformed/control pairs between 1967 and 1995. The lowland subsample (below 2,000 m above the sea level) included 46,729 case-control pairs, ascertained in 1,539,432 births from 49 hospitals in 38 cities. The highlands (above 2,000 m) comprised 3,498 case-control pairs from 129,301 births, occurring in four hospitals from three cities. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate the relative risks for the exposure at high altitudes, adjusted by ethnicity (Amerindian yes/no), type of health service (public/private), and birth weight (below/equal and greater than 2, 500 g). The adjusted relative risks showed significantly (P < 0.01) higher values in the high than in the lowlands for four types of defects: cleft lip [relative risks (RR): 1.57; 95% confidence interval (CI): 1.27-1.94], microtia (RR: 3.21; 95% CI: 2.35-4.79), preauricular tag (RR: 2.09; 95% CI: 1.86-2.36), branchial arch anomaly complex (RR: 1.79; 95% CI: 1.23-2.61), constriction band complex (RR: 1.92; 95% CI: 1.11-3.31), and anal atresia (RR: 1.61; 95% CI: 1.01-2.57). Conversely, lower risks in the highlands were registered for two neural tube defects: anencephaly (RR: 0.33; 95% CI: 0.20-0.54), spina bifida (RR: 0.57; 95% CI: 0.37-0.78), as well as for hydrocephaly (RR: 0.41; 95% CI: 0.22-0.77) and pes equinovarus (RR: 0.70; 95% CI: 0.51-0.96). Even though some of these differences may be caused by undetected confounders, the coincidental finding of four types of craniofacial defects with higher, and two types of neural tube defect with lower frequencies in the highlands, suggest a real biological foundation.

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“…Poor nutrition, inadequate health care, later age at first marriage, and infant feeding practices are all implicated (cf. De Jong, 1970;Weitz et al, 1978;Dutt, 1980;Goldstein et al, 1983Goldstein et al, , 1984aAbelson, 1984;Hoff, 1984;Kashiwazaki et al, 1988;Vitzthum, 1988Vitzthum, , 1989. Because it is likely that several interacting determinants contribute to lowered fertility in high altitude populations, the controversy regarding cause and mechanism continues.…”

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confidence: 99%

Effect of coca‐leaf chewing on salivary progesterone assays

Vitzthum

Dornum

Ellison

1993

American J Phys Anthropol

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Although there is evidence for reduced fertility in Andean and Himalayan populations at higher altitudes, factors other than hypoxia may be primarily responsible. A valuable approach in the investigation of these fertility determinants is the use of salivary steroid assays. However, coca-leaf chewing--a ubiquitous practice among high altitude Andean populations--has negative consequences for the accurate measurement of ovarian steroids. This report evaluates the effects of coca-leaf chewing on assays of salivary progesterone. Study participants include naive and habitual users of coca leaf from La Paz and El Alto, Bolivia. Approximately 300 saliva samples were collected immediately before, during, and after coca-leaf chewing. The series includes samples with and without the alkaloid enhancer typically used by coca-leaf chewers. Coca chewing produces false salivary progesterone values that mimic luteal phase values. On the basis of this study, an appropriate protocol is developed for the collection of salivary samples in coca-leaf chewing populations. These results verify the feasibility of salivary assays, even for very difficult field conditions, and highlight the necessity of establishing suitable collection procedures before full field implementation of saliva sampling.

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Demography and research with high altitude populations

Cited by 8 publications

References 11 publications

Hypsographic demography: The distribution of human population by altitude

Hypsographic demography: The distribution of human population by altitude

Altitude as a risk factor for congenital anomalies

Effect of coca‐leaf chewing on salivary progesterone assays

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