Analysis of variance in acute mountain sickness among young men from different regions of China

Objective　To investigate the incidence of acute mountain sickness (AMS) among young men from different regions when arriving in Tibet, and explore the medical geographic differences of high altitude adaptability of people from different regions. Methods　Cluster sampling survey of AMS incidence was performed among the young men from different regions when arriving in high altitude area, by using the AMS symptoms scoring method, and the military standards were employed as reference, for classifying and scoring. For distinguishing the differences of geographic environment, the systematic cluster analysis of natural geographical factors of their native places was performed and verified by nonparametric tests. The one-way ANOVA was used to analyze the differences of AMS symptom scores among young men from different regions. Results　The native places of the studied subjects were divided into 5 regions by cluster analysis, and the geographic factors among the 5 regions were found to be significantly different (P<0.01). It was found that there were significant differences in the AMS incidence among people came from different regions (P<0.05). Specifically, the AMS incidence was significantly higher (P<0.05) in people from region 2 than in people from region 3, 4 and 5. In terms of main symptoms of AMS, the incidence of headache in people from region 2 was 82.8%, and it was significantly different (P<0.05) from that of those coming from regions 3, 4 and 5; the incidence of nausea and vomiting was 37.9%, and it was significantly different (P<0.05) from that of those coming from region 3; the incidence of fatigue and drowsiness was 724.% and 27.6%, and it was significantly different (P<0.05) from that of those coming from region 5. The incidence of vertigo in people from region 1 and 3 was significantly different (P<0.05) from that of those coming from region 5. Conclusions　The significant geographic differences of AMS incidence are found to exist among people coming from different regions. Persons from different regions have different high altitude adaptability, those from lower altitude regions may have higher AMS incidence. Some pertinent measures should be taken on AMS prevention for the people according to their regional differences. DOI: 10.11855/j.issn.0577-7402.2014.08.13