Hematological and pulmonary responses to high altitude in Quechuas: A multivariate approach

Abstract

This study investigates the relationships among hematological variables, pulmonary function, and age in a sample of high-altitude natives. The following anthropometric and physiological variables were examined in 77 adult Quechua males from the Peruvian Central Andes (Huancavelica, 3,680 m): height, weight, sitting height, chest diameters, chest and abdominal circumferences, forced vital capacity (FVC), forced expiratory volume at 1 sec (FEV1), peak expiratory flow (PEF), hemoglobin concentration (Hb), red blood cells (RBC), hematocrit (Htc), diastolic and systolic blood pressure, body temperature, pulmonary rate, and pulse rate. The means of these variables for the Huancavelica sample fall within the range of variability previously observed in Andean populations. Principal components analysis and canonical correlation analysis suggest that in this native Andean population: 1) aging decreases lung function but does not affect hematological features, and 2) there is a negative age-independent correlation between lung function (FVC, FEV1, PEF) and hematological traits (Hb, RBC, Htc).

A decade of rapid change: Biocultural influences on child growth in highland Peru

“…The effects of growth faltering due to hypoxia are strongest when a child has lived permanently at high altitude, being a function of the point of the life cycle at which it starts and the amount of time of exposure (de Meer et al, ; Tarazona‐Santos et al, ). Infancy seems to be the most labile stage for hypoxia's effects (Greksa, ), and the first year of life is where our data show the largest difference between cohorts.…”

“…Research in the Andes has perforce needed to also focus on the altitude at which a child lives because of the physiological effects of high altitude hypoxia such as slowed fetal growth (Carter, ) and shorter stature (Frisancho, ; Román et al, ; Stinson, ). These effects are strongest when a child has lived permanently at high altitude (de Meer, Heymans, & Zijlstra, ; Tarazona‐Santos, Lavine, Pastor, Fiori, & Pettener, ), with infancy appearing to be the most labile age (Greksa, ).…”

Surname‐Inferred andean ancestry is associated with child stature and limb lengths at high altitude in Peru, but not at sea level

“…Some studies indicate that increased chest size relative to stature is more marked in children than adults (Hoff, ; Mueller et al, ,; Palomino et al, ), suggesting that height “catches up” with chest growth later in development. Alternatively, the larger chest dimensions of highland Andeans are associated with improved lung function (Frisancho, ; Mueller et al, ; Whittaker, : but see Brutsaert et al, ; Tarazona‐Santos et al, ) and so may improve work efficiency rather than impacting growth. Finally, others have suggested that only the most nutritionally‐stressed Andean populations show increased chest growth (Pawson and Huicho, ; Pawson et al, ), but the relationship between nutritional status, chest size and linear growth remains to be directly tested.…”

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“…É através dum complexo mecanismo que engloba a percepção e análise da situação, a decisão a tomar e a execução (57,1,98,36) que a táctica se consubstancia como elemento central e coordenador dos jogos de oposição (2,6,44,1,77,89,71). O sistema de referências múltiplas em que os atletas actuam sugere uma implicação específica das funções psicológicas, nomeadamente no que se reporta aos aspectos cognitivos.…”

“…Nesta fase inicial de exposição à altitude, os indivíduos que apresentam um incremento mais acentuado da ventilação estarão melhor adaptados para tolerar as condições de hipóxia. A exuberância deste processo adaptativo, isto é, do grau da resposta ventilatória ao estímulo hipóxico, apresenta grande variabilidade interindividual parecendo estar associada a diversos factores, tais como o fenótipo e genótipo (31,77). Deste modo, alguns estudos com populações nativas de regiões de elevada altitude (14,15,79), nomeadamente andinas e himalaínas, têm demonstrado que, comparativamente a sujeitos caucasianos residentes ao nível do mar, a sua resposta ventilatória à hipóxia não é tão exuberante.…”