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Meta-Analysis
. 2024 Sep 24;19(9):e0305651.
doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0305651. eCollection 2024.

Mountain sickness in altitude inhabitants of Latin America: A systematic review and meta-analysis

J Pierre Zila-Velasque  1 , Pamela Grados-Espinoza  1 , P Alejandra Goicochea-Romero  1   2 , Gustavo Tapia-Sequeiros  1   3 , J Enrique Pascual-Aguilar  1 , Arturo J Ruiz-Yaringaño  1   4   5 , Shamir Barros-Sevillano  6 , Jhon Ayca-Mendoza  1 , Wendy Nieto-Gutierrez  7
Affiliations
Meta-Analysis

Mountain sickness in altitude inhabitants of Latin America: A systematic review and meta-analysis

J Pierre Zila-Velasque et al. PLoS One. .

Abstract

Objective: Chronic and acute mountain sickness is known worldwide, but most of the available information comes from the eastern continent (Himalayas) without taking into account the west which has the most recent group located at altitude, the Andes. The aim of this study was to synthesize the evidence on the prevalence of acute and chronic mountain sickness in Latin American countries (LATAM).

Methods: A systematic search of the variables of interest was performed until July 8, 2023 in the Web of Science, Scopus, PubMed and Embase databases. We included studies that assessed the prevalence of mountain sickness in high-altitude inhabitants (>1500 m.a.s.l) who lived in a place more than 12 months. These were analyzed by means of a meta-analysis of proportions. To assess sources of heterogeneity, subgroup analyses and sensitivity analyses were performed by including only studies with low risk of bias and excluding extreme values (0 or 10,000 ratio). PROSPERO (CRD42021286504).

Results: Thirty-nine cross-sectional studies (10,549 participants) met the inclusion criteria. We identified 5 334 and 2 945 events out of 10,000 with acute and chronic mountain sickness in LATAM countries. The most common physiological alteration was polycythemia (2,558 events), while cerebral edema was the less common (46 events). Clinical conditions were more prevalent at high altitudes for both types of MS.

Conclusion: Acute mountain sickness (AMS) occurs approximately in 5 out of 10 people at high altitude, while chronic mountain sickness (CMS) occurs in 3 out of 10. The most frequent physiological alteration was polycythemia and the least frequent was cerebral edema.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.

Figures

Fig 1
Fig 1. PRISMA flow chart for the study selection process.
Fig 2
Fig 2. Meta-analysis on the prevalence of Acute (A) and Chronic (B) Mountain Sickness.
Fig 3
Fig 3. Prevalence of Acute (A) and Chronic (B) Mountain Sickness by altitude.
Fig 4
Fig 4. Meta-analysis on the prevalence of mild (A) and severe (B) symptoms of Mountain Sickness.
Fig 5
Fig 5. Meta-analysis on the prevalence of complications of mountain sickness.
Fig 6
Fig 6. Prevalence of acute and chronic mountain sickness by country, based on the number of published studies.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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