A higher baseline somatization score at sea level as an independent predictor of acute mountain sickness

• Published in: Physiology & behavior Vol. 167; pp. 202 - 208
• Main Authors: Bian, Shi-Zhu, Jin, Jun, Dong, Jun-Qing, Li, Qian-Ning, Yu, Jie, Tang, Cai-Fa, Yu, Shi-Yong, Zhao, Xiao-Hui, Qin, Jun, Huang, Lan
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: United States Elsevier Inc 01.12.2016
• Subjects: Acute Disease; Acute mountain sickness; Adolescent; Adult; Altitude Sickness - complications; Altitude Sickness - diagnosis; Altitude Sickness - psychology; anxiety; Asian Continental Ancestry Group; Blood Pressure; case studies; Chinese people; dyspnea; heart rate; Heart Rate - physiology; Humans; lakes; Male; men; Mood Disorders - diagnosis; Mood Disorders - etiology; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - diagnosis; Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder - etiology; oxygen; patients; Predictor; Psychiatry; psychosocial factors; questionnaires; Reference Values; regression analysis; sea level; Self-Assessment; Somatization symptoms; Somatoform Disorders - diagnosis; Somatoform Disorders - etiology; Statistics, Nonparametric; Surveys and Questionnaires; Symptoms Checklist-90; Young Adult; Acute mountain sickness; Somatization symptoms; Symptoms Checklist-90; Predictor
• DOI: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2016.09.008
• ISSN: 0031-9384; 1873-507X

The current study aimed to identify the predictive values of psychological factors that are evaluated by the Symptoms Checklist-90 (SCL-90) for acute mountain sickness (AMS). The subjects (n=285, non-acclimatized young Chinese men), who were recruited in July 2013, completed a case report questionnaire. In addition, their vital signs (heart rate [HR], blood pressure and pulse oxygen saturation) were measured, and their psychological factors were examined using the SCL-90 at sea level. AMS was diagnosed using the Lake Louise self-assessment scoring system in the morning of the second day after their arrival at 3450m. Of the nine factors of the SCL-90, the AMS patients (AMS score≥3) were characterized by significantly higher scores for baseline somatization [14.0 (5.0) vs. 13.0 (3.0), p<0.001], obsession–compulsion, depression, anxiety and hostility compared with the non-AMS group (all p values<0.05). Spearman's correlation analyses revealed associations between AMS scores and somatization (r=0.316, p<0.001), depression, anxiety, obsession–compulsion, interpersonal sensitivity, hostility, phobic anxiety, paranoid ideation and psychoticism scores (all p values<0.001). Although all nine factors were associated with AMS in a univariate regression (all p<0.05), a further adjusted logistic regression analysis indicated that only baseline somatization score (odds ratio=1.129, p=0.001) was an independent predictor of AMS. Furthermore, some non-AMS often-occurred symptoms (paresthesia, shortness of breath, reduced activity and tinnitus) were also found to be associated with the baseline SCL-90 scores. AMS is correlated with the baseline somatization score at sea level, which was measured using the SCL-90. A higher baseline somatization score is also an independent predictor of AMS. •Described novel epidemiology and characteristics of SCL-90 pre- and post-high-altitude exposure•Identified the associations between SCL-90 factors and AMS•Identified the predictive role of baseline somatization score for AMS•Found associations between non-AMS-related symptoms and SCL-90 items