Incidence of Acute Mountain Sickness at Intermediate Altitudes

Abstract

<h3>To the Editor. —</h3> As more and more people flock to mountain resorts, it is evident that acute mountain sickness exacts a significant human and economic toll at even moderate altitude. Singh et al,¹describing 1905 cases among Indian troops, found incidences ranging from 0.8% to 8.0% between companies. Hackett et al²reported that 52.5% of 278 trekkers at 4200 m in Nepal had one of several forms of altitude sickness, while Larsen et al,³in a double-blind study on 4200-m Mt Rainier, found that 25% of untreated subjects experienced acute mountain sickness. R. Yip (personal communication, 1989) questioned 101 epidemiologists at a meeting at 2940 m in Colorado; of these, 42% had typical acute mountain sickness. In 1982, a survey⁴of 3906 visitors at six Colorado resorts between 2400 and 2850 m in elevation showed that 12% had three or more of the five classic