Children at high altitude have less nocturnal periodic breathing than adults

¹ Pulmonary Division, Dept of Internal Medicine, University Hospital of Zurich, and Center for Integrative Human Physiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland
² Institute of Sport and Health Sciences, University of Basel, Switzerland
³ Division of Cardiology, University Hospital of Basel, Switzerland
⁴ Institute of Exercise Physiology, University of Zurich, Switzerland

^* To whom correspondence should be addressed. E-mail: pneubloc{at}usz.uzh.ch.

	Abstract

Although children commonly travel to high altitude their respiratory adaptation to hypoxia remains elusive. We therefore recorded respiratory inductive plethysmography, pulse oximetry (SpO₂) and end-tidal PCO₂ in 20 prepubertal children (9–12y) and their fathers during a night in Zurich (490m) and two nights at the Swiss Jungfrau-Joch research station (3450m) following ascent by train within <3h. In children mean±SD nocturnal SpO₂ fell from 98±1% (490m) to 85±4% and 86±4% (nights 1 and 2, 3450m); end-tidal PCO₂ decreased from 37±6 to 32±3 and 33±4 mmHg (P<0.05, 3450m vs. 490m). In adults, changes in nocturnal SpO₂ and end-tidal PCO₂ at 3450m were similar to those in children. Children spent less time in periodic breathing at 3450m (8±11% and 9±13% of night 1 and 2) than adults (34±24% and 22±17%, P<0.05) and their apnoea threshold for CO₂ was lower (27±2 mmHg, both nights) compared to adults (30±2 mmHg, both nights, P<0.05). SpO₂, end-tidal PCO₂, and time in periodic breathing at altitude were not correlated between children and fathers. We conclude that children revealed a similarly reduced nocturnal oxygen saturation and associated hyperventilation at high altitude as adults but their breathing pattern was more stable, possibly related to a lower apnoea threshold for CO₂.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				E Scrase, A Laverty, J C D Gavlak, S Sonnappa, D Z H Levett, D Martin, M P W Grocott, and J Stocks The Young Everest Study: effects of hypoxia at high altitude on cardiorespiratory function and general well-being in healthy children Arch. Dis. Child., August 1, 2009; 94(8): 621 - 626. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]