Differences in the prevalence of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors between people living at low (&lt;1,001 m) compared to moderate (1,001–2,000 m) altitude

Martin Burtscher; Grégoire P Millet; Jeannette Klimont; Johannes Burtscher; Martin Burtscher; Grégoire P Millet; Jeannette Klimont; Johannes Burtscher

doi:10.3934/publichealth.2021050

AIMS Public Health

2021, Volume 8, Issue 4: 624-635. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021050

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Research article

Differences in the prevalence of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors between people living at low (<1,001 m) compared to moderate (1,001–2,000 m) altitude

1.
University of Innsbruck, A-6020, Innsbruck, Austria
2.
Institute of Sport Sciences, University of Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
3.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, University of Lausanne, CH-1015, Lausanne, Switzerland
4.
Unit Demography and Health, Directorate Social Statistics, Statistics Austria, 1110 Vienna, Austria

Received: 14 July 2021 Accepted: 29 August 2021 Published: 31 August 2021

Living at moderate altitude (up to about 2,000 m) was shown to be associated with distinct health benefits, including lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. However, it remains unclear, whether those benefits are mainly due to environmental conditions (e.g., hypoxia, temperature, solar ultra-violet radiation) or differences in lifestyle behavior, including regular physical activity levels. This study aims to compare altitude-related differences in levels of physical activity and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes in an Alpine country. We interrogated the Austrian Health Interview Survey (ATHIS) 2019, a nationally representative study of persons aged over 15 years living in private Austrian households. The results confirm a higher prevalence of hypertension (24.2% vs. 16.8%) in men living at low (<1,001 m) compared to those at moderate (1,001 to 2,000 m) altitude. Women living above 1,000 m tend to have a lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (14.8% vs. 18.8%) and diabetes (3.2% vs. 5.6%) than their lower living peers. Both sexes have lower average body mass index (BMI) when residing at moderate altitude (men: 25.7, women: 23.9) compared to those living lower (26.6 and 25.2). Severe obesity (BMI > 40) is almost exclusively restricted to low altitude dwellers. Only men report to be more physically active on average when living higher (1,453 vs. 1,113 weekly MET minutes). These novel findings confirm some distinct benefits of moderate altitude residence on heath. Beside climate conditions, differences in lifestyle behavior, i.e., physical activity, have to be considered when interpreting those health-related divergences, and consequently also mortality data, between people residing at low and moderate altitudes.
- altitude,
- health,
- residence,
- lifestyle,
- physical activity,
- age,
- sex
Citation: Martin Burtscher, Grégoire P Millet, Jeannette Klimont, Johannes Burtscher. Differences in the prevalence of physical activity and cardiovascular risk factors between people living at low (<1,001 m) compared to moderate (1,001–2,000 m) altitude[J]. AIMS Public Health, 2021, 8(4): 624-635. doi: 10.3934/publichealth.2021050

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Abstract

Living at moderate altitude (up to about 2,000 m) was shown to be associated with distinct health benefits, including lower mortality from cardiovascular diseases and certain cancers. However, it remains unclear, whether those benefits are mainly due to environmental conditions (e.g., hypoxia, temperature, solar ultra-violet radiation) or differences in lifestyle behavior, including regular physical activity levels. This study aims to compare altitude-related differences in levels of physical activity and the prevalence of cardiovascular risk factors such as obesity, hypertension, hypercholesterolemia, and diabetes in an Alpine country. We interrogated the Austrian Health Interview Survey (ATHIS) 2019, a nationally representative study of persons aged over 15 years living in private Austrian households. The results confirm a higher prevalence of hypertension (24.2% vs. 16.8%) in men living at low (<1,001 m) compared to those at moderate (1,001 to 2,000 m) altitude. Women living above 1,000 m tend to have a lower prevalence of hypercholesterolemia (14.8% vs. 18.8%) and diabetes (3.2% vs. 5.6%) than their lower living peers. Both sexes have lower average body mass index (BMI) when residing at moderate altitude (men: 25.7, women: 23.9) compared to those living lower (26.6 and 25.2). Severe obesity (BMI > 40) is almost exclusively restricted to low altitude dwellers. Only men report to be more physically active on average when living higher (1,453 vs. 1,113 weekly MET minutes). These novel findings confirm some distinct benefits of moderate altitude residence on heath. Beside climate conditions, differences in lifestyle behavior, i.e., physical activity, have to be considered when interpreting those health-related divergences, and consequently also mortality data, between people residing at low and moderate altitudes.

Acknowledgments

We would like to thank Statistics Austria for providing the data.

Conflict of interest

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

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