Developmental components of resting ventilation among high‐ and low‐altitude Andean children and adults

• Published in: American journal of physical anthropology 1999-07, Vol.109 (3), p.295-301
• Main Authors: Frisancho, A. Roberto, Juliao, Patricia C., Barcelona, Veronica, Kudyba, Carmela E., Amayo, Glenda, Davenport, Grecia, Knowles, Alicia, Sanchez, Dani, Villena, Mercedes, Vargas, Enrique, Soria, Rudy
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: adaptation; Adaptation, Physiological; Adolescent; Adult; Aging - physiology; Altitude; Aymara; Blood Gas Analysis; Bolivia; Child; development; high‐altitude hypoxia; Humans; Pulmonary Ventilation; Quechua; ventilation; Vital Capacity
• ISSN: 0002-9483; 1096-8644
• DOI: 10.1002/(SICI)1096-8644(199907)109:3<295::AID-AJPA2>3.0.CO;2-U

This paper evaluates the age‐associated changes of resting ventilation of 115 high‐ and low‐altitude Aymara subjects, of whom 61 were from the rural Aymara village of Ventilla situated at an average altitude of 4,200 m and 54 from the rural village of Caranavi situated at an average altitude of 900 m. Comparison of the age patterns of resting ventilation suggests the following conclusions: 1) the resting ventilation (ml/kg/min) of high‐altitude natives is markedly higher than that of low‐altitude natives; 2) the age decline of ventilation is similar in both lowlanders and highlanders, but the starting point and therefore the age decline are much higher at high altitude; 3) the resting ventilation that characterizes high‐altitude Andean natives is developmentally expressed in the same manner as it is at low altitude; and 4) the resting ventilation (ml/kg/min) of Aymara high‐altitude natives is between 40–80% lower than that of Tibetans. Am J Phys Anthropol 109:295–301, 1999. © 1999 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.