[Investigation and Analysis of Deacclimatization in Tibetan College Students Upon First Visit to Low-Altitude Regions].

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the correlation between changes in physiological indicators and altitude, age, and sex among ethnic Tibetan college students living in Xizang on long-term basis upon their first ever visit to a low-altitude region, thereby providing health guidance for long-term residents of high-altitude regions when they visit low-altitude environments for the first time.

Methods: A cluster random sampling method was used to select 170 healthy first-year college students of Tibetan ethnicity (85 males and 85 females), from Xizang Minzu University. The participants did not have any respiratory, circulatory, or nervous system diseases, nor any family history of such conditions. Based on their responses to questionnaires and the monitoring data of their physiological indicators, an analysis was conducted to assess the incidence and duration of deacclimatization symptoms among these Tibetan college students during the first month after their arrival at a low-altitude region. In addition, the R programming language and the SPSS software were used to analyze the correlation between changes in blood pressure, heart rate, and body weight and the participants' age, sex, and the altitude of their long-term residence in Xizang before and after their arrival at a low-altitude region.

Results: Statistical analysis revealed that Tibetan college students experienced deacclimatization symptoms within the first week of their first ever visit to a low-altitude region, primarily characterized by dizziness, fatigue, and drowsiness. The incidence was 41.9% among female students and 22.5% among male students. Furthermore, after arriving at low-altitude region, the participants experience an initial decrease followed by a recovery in both blood pressure and heart rate. They gained an average of 1.5 kg in body mass compared with their initial measurements upon arrival in a low-altitude region. Significant differences in blood pressure, heart rate, and body mass were observed among Tibetan students of different sexes and altitudes of their long-term residence in Xizang after their arrival in a low-altitude region.

Conclusion: After arriving at a low-altitude region, Tibetan college students exhibit marked changes in physiological indicators, showing strong correlations between systolic blood pressure, body mass, etc., and sex, altitude, and other parameters.