The Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Acute Mountain The Prevalence of and Risk Factors for Acute Mountain Sickness in the Eastern and Western Alps

摘要

Mairer, Klemens, Maria Wille, and Martin Burtscher. The prevalence of and risk factors for acute mountainnsickness in the Eastern and Western Alps. High Alt. Med. Biol. 11:343–348, 2010.—Acute mountain sickness (AMS)nis themost common condition of high altitude illnesses. Its prevalence varies between 15% and 80% depending onnthe speed of ascent, absolute altitude reached, and individual susceptibility. Additionally, we assumed that thenmore experienced mountaineers of the Western Alps are less susceptible to developing AMS than recreationalnmountaineers of the Eastern Alps or tourist populations. Therefore, the main goals of the present study were thencollection of data regarding the AMS prevalence and triggers in both the Eastern and Western Alps using identicalnmethods. A total of 162 mountaineers, 79 in the Eastern Alps (3454 m) and 83 in the Western Alps (3817 m) werenstudied on the morning after their first night at high altitude. A diagnosis of AMS was based on a Lake LouisenScore (LLS) u00024, the presence of headache, and at least one additional symptom. Thirty of 79 subjects (38.0%)nsuffered from AMS at 3454m in the Eastern Alps as did 29 of 83 (34.9%) at 3817m in the Western Alps. Afternadjustment for altitude, the prevalence in the Western Alps constituted 24.5%, which differed significantlyn( p紏0.04) from that found in the Eastern Alps. The lower mountaineering experience of mountaineers in thenEastern Alps turned out to be the only factor for explaining their higher AMS prevalence. Thus, expert advice bynmountain guides or experienced colleagues could help to reduce the AMS risk in these subjects.