This Article  • References  • Full text PDF  • Send to a friend  • Save in My Folder  • Save to citation manager  • Permissions  Citing Articles  • Citation map  • Citing articles on HighWire  • Contact me when this article is cited  Related Content  • Similar articles in this journal  Social Bookmarking   What's this?

Mary Kay Theis, MA; Benjamin Honigman, MD; Ray Yip, MD, MPH; Danny McBride, PhD; Charles S. Houston, MD; Lorna G. Moore, PhD

Am J Dis Child. 1993;147(2):143-145.

Abstract
• Objective.
—Acute mountain sickness has been described in adults but little is known concerning its occurrence in children. Our objective was to determine the incidence of acute mountain sickness in children.

Methods.
—A survey questionnaire was completed by 558 children (aged 9 to 14 years) after they ascended from 1600 to 2835 m and from 405 similarly aged children after travel at sea level.

Results.
—Three or more of the following symptoms in the high-altitude setting were considered as the case definition of acute mountain sickness: headache, loss of appetite, vomiting, fatigue, insomnia, shortness of breath, and dizziness. One hundred fifty-six (28%) of the children at 2835 m developed acute mountain sickness. Three or more symptoms developed in a smaller, but nonetheless considerable, number (86 [21%]) of children at sea level. Headache, shortness of breath, and dizziness were reported more frequently at high altitude than at low altitude, whereas the other symptoms occurred with equal frequency at the two locations.

Conclusions.
—More than one fourth of the children visiting high altitude developed acute mountain sickness. A high proportion (21%) of children at sea level developed similar symptoms, suggesting that an appreciable portion of the symptoms present were due to factors other than altitude, such as travel, anxiety, or disruption of daily routine.

(AJDC. 1993;147:143-145)

Author Affiliations
From the Colorado Altitude Research Institute, Keystone (Ms Theis and Drs Honigman, Yip, Houston, and Moore); the Department of Anthropology, University of Colorado at Denver (Ms Theis and Dr Moore); Emergency Medicine Research Center, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver (Dr Honigman); Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Nutrition Division, Atlanta, Ga (Dr Yip); Keystone (Colo) Science School (Dr McBride); and Cardiovascular Pulmonary Research Laboratory, University of Colorado Health Sciences Center, Denver (Dr Moore). Ms Theis is currently with the Department of Epidemiology, University of Washington, Seattle.

Footnotes
Accepted for publication June 10, 1992.

Reprint requests to the Department of Epidemiology, SC-36, University of Washington, Seattle, WA 98195 (Ms Theis).

CiteULike    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter     What's this?

THIS ARTICLE HAS BEEN CITED BY OTHER ARTICLES

The Young Everest Study: effects of hypoxia at high altitude on cardiorespiratory function and general well-being in healthy children
Scrase et al.
Arch. Dis. Child. 2009;94:621-626.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

The effects of flight and altitude
Samuels
Arch. Dis. Child. 2004;89:448-455.
ABSTRACT | FULL TEXT  

ACUTE MOUNTAIN SICKNESS IN CHILDREN
JWatch General 1993;1993:5-5.
FULL TEXT