Incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness and associated symptoms in children trekking on Xue Mountain, Taiwan

Cheng, Fei Ying; Jeng, Mei Jy; Lin, Yixiao; Wang, Shih Hao; Wu, Shenghan; Li, Wen Cheng; Huang, Kuo Feng; Chiu, Te Fa

doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0183207

Cited by 12 publications

(17 citation statements)

References 31 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Previous literature showed conflicting and inconclusive associations between age and AMS (Wang et al, 2010 ; McDevitt et al, 2014 ; Tang et al, 2014 ; Chan et al, 2016 ; Gonggalanzi et al, 2016 ; Cheng et al, 2017 ; Wu et al, 2018 ). This is predominantly due to the heterogeneity in study location, design, population, AMS diagnostic tool, and, most importantly, the small number of older adults included in the studies (Wu et al, 2018 ; Gianfredi et al, 2020 ).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence and Determinants of Acute Mountain Sickness in Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

Yang¹,

Ibrahim

Jenarun

et al. 2020

High Altitude Medicine & Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the most common type of high-altitude sickness. The incidence of AMS varies by mountain location, trail characteristics, and study design. The lack of local epidemiology data has driven us to investigate the incidence and severity of AMS and its associated factors at Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia. Methods: A cohort study was conducted to collect data from climbers after days 1 (3272 m) and 2 (4095 m) of ascent. A self-administered questionnaire was used to explore climbers' demographic and climb characteristics, history of AMS, alcohol exposure, and AMS prevention measures. The Lake Louis score 2018 was used to assess the presence and severity of AMS (cutoff ‡3). Univariate and multivariable logistic regressions were performed to determine the factors associated with the development of AMS on day 2. Results: Data from 345 climbers were analyzed. The incidence of AMS was 23.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 19.5%-28.7%) and 21.7% (95% CI 17.5%-26.3%) on days 1 and 2, respectively. The majority were mild cases. Experiencing AMS on day 1 (odds ratio [OR] = 12.88; 95% CI 6.71-24.75), alcohol consumption (OR = 3.73; 95% CI 1.66-8.39), receiving guide advice on day 1 (OR = 0.49; 95% CI 0.26-0.93), and age (OR = 0.96; 95% CI 0.93-0.99) were significant determinants of AMS at Mount Kinabalu. Gender, history of AMS, past exposure to high altitude, ascending time, water intake, acetazolamide use, physical fitness, pulse rate, and peripheral capillary oxygen saturation (SpO 2) were not associated with AMS at Mount Kinabalu. Conclusion: Future analysis with age strata is required to ascertain the association of age with AMS. Our research has signposted a strong call for collaborative efforts to improve the provision of hiking advice and discourage alcohol sales to mitigate the risk of AMS among Mount Kinabalu climbers.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Incidence and Determinants of Acute Mountain Sickness in Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

Yang¹,

Ibrahim

Jenarun

et al. 2020

High Altitude Medicine & Biology

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…In 2017, Fei-Ying performed an intervention on 11 to 12 years old children at 3100 m, reporting an AMS incidence between 23.4% and 29.4%. Cheng et al reported a 40.6% of AMS incidence on 197 healthy, non-acclimatized 11 and 12 years old children trekking the round-trip from the trailhead to the summit of Xue Mountain, Taiwan (2179 m to 3886 m), over 3 days [ 19 ]. In a similar study, Chan et al reported a 59% incidence of AMS in a cohort of 96 healthy non-acclimatized children aged 11–12 years who trekked from an elevation of 2600 m to 3952 m in 3 days (Jade Mountain, Taiwan).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Some studies have found no differences between females and males [ 17 , 18 ]. While a study has shown that females present a higher prevalence of AMS [ 8 ], other studies indicate that males present higher AMS than females [ 19 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Physiological Responses at Rest and Exercise to High Altitude in Lowland Children and Adolescents

Lang

Vizcaíno-Muñoz

Jopia³

et al. 2021

Life

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

During the last decades, the number of lowland children exposed to high altitude (HA) has increased drastically. Several factors may influence the development of illness after acute HA exposure on children and adolescent populations, such as altitude reached, ascent velocity, time spent at altitude and, especially, their age. The main goal of this study was to evaluate the resting cardiorespiratory physiological and submaximal exercise responses under natural HA conditions by means of the six-minute walking test (six MWT). Secondly, we aimed to identify the signs and symptoms associated with acute mountain sickness (AMS) onset after acute HA exposure in children and adolescents. Forty-two children and adolescents, 18 boys and 24 girls aged from 11 to 15 years old, participated in this study, which was performed at sea level (SL) and during the first 42 hours at HA (3330 m). The Lake Louise score (LLS) was recorded in order to evaluate the evolution of AMS symptoms. Submaximal exercise tests (six MWT) were performed at SL and HA. Physiological parameters such as heart rate, systolic and diastolic blood pressure, respiratory rate and arterialized oxygen saturation were measured at rest and after ending exercise testing at the two altitudes. After acute HA exposure, the participants showed lower arterial oxygen saturation levels at rest and after the submaximal test compared to SL (p < 0.001). Resting heart rate, respiratory rate and diastolic blood pressure presented higher values at HA (p < 0.01). Moreover, heart rate, diastolic blood pressure and dyspnea values increased before, during and after exercise at HA (p < 0.01). Moreover, submaximal exercise performance decreased at HA (p < 0.001). The AMS incidence at HA ranged from 9.5% to 19%, with mild to moderate symptoms. In conclusion, acute HA exposure in children and adolescent individuals produces an increase in basal cardiorespiratory parameters and a decrement in arterial oxygen saturation. Moreover, cardiorespiratory parameters increase during submaximal exercise at HA. Mild to moderate symptoms of AMS at 3330 m and adequate cardiovascular responses to submaximal exercise do not contraindicate the ascension of children and adolescents to that altitude, at least for a limited period of time.

show abstract

“…The incidence of AMS is relatively high, from 23.9% to 53%, [ 24 – 26 ] in people accessing high altitude in a short period of time. Also, high altitude encephaledema or pneumonedema, which is a potentially fatal condition, is seen in 0.1% to 10% of people with AMS.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prophylaxis of ibuprofen in acute mountain sickness

Yi¹,

Kui-ying²,

Gan³

et al. 2020

Medicine

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Background: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is the effect when people accessing high altitude in a short period of time. As a cyclooxygenase (COX) inhibitor, ibuprofen could alleviate the symptoms of AMS. However, whether it can prevent AMS or not is still controversial. It is necessary to perform a meta-analysis to evaluate the role of ibuprofen in AMS prophylaxis. Methods: PubMed, EMBASE, Medline, ISI Web of Science, Cochrane Library, China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) will be searched for the relevant published studies that explored the value of ibuprofen in AMS prophylaxis from inception to October 2020. The data will be independently extracted by 2 researchers. Risk of bias will be evaluated based on Cochrane risk of bias assessment tool. Heterogeneity among the included studies will be evaluated by χ 2 and I 2 values. The meta-analysis was conducted by RevMan software version 5.3. Results: This study will evaluate the role of ibuprofen in AMS prophylaxis. Conclusion: This study will summarize the current evidence of ibuprofen in AMS prophylaxis, which could further guide the recommendation in prevention of AMS. Open Science Framework (OSF) registration number: October 8, 2020. osf.io/n3mjt.

show abstract

Incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness and associated symptoms in children trekking on Xue Mountain, Taiwan

Cited by 12 publications

References 31 publications

Incidence and Determinants of Acute Mountain Sickness in Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

Incidence and Determinants of Acute Mountain Sickness in Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia

Physiological Responses at Rest and Exercise to High Altitude in Lowland Children and Adolescents

Prophylaxis of ibuprofen in acute mountain sickness

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About