Child health and living at high altitude

• Published in: Archives of Disease in Childhood Vol. 94; no. 10; pp. 806 - 811
• Main Authors: Niermeyer, S, Andrade Mollinedo, P, Huicho, L
• Format: Journal Article Book Review
• Language: English
• Published: London BMJ Publishing Group Ltd and Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health 01.10.2009; BMJ Publishing Group; BMJ Publishing Group Ltd; BMJ Publishing Group LTD
• Subjects: Altitude; Altitudes; Biological and medical sciences; Birth Weight; Cardiovascular Diseases - epidemiology; Cardiovascular Diseases - etiology; Child Health; Child Welfare; Child, Preschool; Children; Cognition Disorders - epidemiology; Cognition Disorders - etiology; Cognitive Development; Company distribution practices; Diseases; Distribution; Environmental aspects; General aspects; Growth Disorders - epidemiology; Growth Disorders - etiology; Health aspects; Humans; Hypertension; Infant; Infant, Newborn; Malnutrition - epidemiology; Malnutrition - etiology; Medical sciences; Miscellaneous; Mortality; Pediatric diseases; Prevention and actions; Public health. Hygiene; Public health. Hygiene-occupational medicine; Respiration Disorders - epidemiology; Respiration Disorders - etiology; Socioeconomics; Toxins; Young Children; Human; High altitude; Pediatrics; Environmental factor; Child; Public health
• ISSN: 0003-9888; 1468-2044
• DOI: 10.1136/adc.2008.141838

The health of children born and living at high altitude is shaped not only by the low-oxygen environment, but also by population ancestry and sociocultural determinants. High altitude and the corresponding reduction in oxygen delivery during pregnancy result in lower birth weight with higher elevation. Children living at high elevations are at special risk for hypoxaemia during infancy and during acute lower respiratory infection, symptomatic high-altitude pulmonary hypertension, persistence of fetal vascular connections, and re-entry high-altitude pulmonary oedema. However, child health varies from one population group to another due to genetic adaptation as well as factors such as nutrition, intercurrent infection, exposure to pollutants and toxins, socioeconomic status, and access to medical care. Awareness of the risks uniquely associated with living at high altitude and monitoring of key health indicators can help protect the health of children at high altitude. These considerations should be incorporated into the scaling-up of effective interventions for improving global child health and survival.