Acute mountain sickness is not altered by a high carbohydrate diet nor associated with elevated circulating cytokines

Abstract

We investigated whether a diet of increased carbohydrate content reduces the symptoms of acute mountain sickness (AMS) and whether concentrations of circulating cytokines rise and correlate with hypoxia and AMS. There were 19 healthy volunteers who ingested in randomized order both a high carbohydrate (68% CHO) or normal carbohydrate (45% CHO) diet for 4 d. On the 4th d, subjects were exposed to 8 h of 10% normobaric oxygen. Each subject completed the Lake Louise Consensus Questionnaire (LLCQ: a questionnaire developed to quantify the common symptoms and consequences of AMS) at the beginning and end of each hypoxic session, at which times venous blood was obtained for the following cytokines: interleukins 1 beta, 6 and 8 (IL-1 beta, IL-6, IL-8) and tumor necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha). AMS symptoms did not differ significantly between the diets (LLCQ scores: 68% CHO = 10.1 +/- 3.8 vs. 45% CHO = 10.3 +/- 4.1). Cytokine concentrations did not change with hypoxia on either diet, nor did individual changes correlate with AMS symptoms. We conclude that a high carbohydrate diet for 4 d does not reduce the symptoms of AMS; and plasma cytokine concentrations do not change with hypoxia and the development of AMS and, thus, are not likely mediators of this syndrome.