Performance in the Six-Minute Walking Test Does Not Discriminate Excessive Erythrocytosis Patients in a Severe Hypoxic Environment

Rossela Alejandra Rojas-Chambilla, Kely Melina Vilca-Coaquira, Jeancarlo Tejada-Flores, Henry Oscar Tintaya-Ramos, Mariela Mercedes Quispe-Trujillo, Ángel Gabriel Calisaya-Huacasi, Solanyela Anny Quispe-Humpiri, Yony Martin Pino-Vanegas, Alberto Alcibiades Salazar-Granara, Ana Lucía Tácuna-Calderón, Nancy Mónica García-Bedoya, Moua Yang (), Ginés Viscor () and Iván Hancco-Zirena ()
Additional contact information
Rossela Alejandra Rojas-Chambilla: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Kely Melina Vilca-Coaquira: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Jeancarlo Tejada-Flores: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Henry Oscar Tintaya-Ramos: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Mariela Mercedes Quispe-Trujillo: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Ángel Gabriel Calisaya-Huacasi: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Solanyela Anny Quispe-Humpiri: Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Yony Martin Pino-Vanegas: Escuela Profesional de Educación Física, Facultad de Ciencias de la Educación, Universidad Nacional del Altiplano, Puno 21000, Peru
Alberto Alcibiades Salazar-Granara: Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura (CIMA), Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima 15024, Peru
Ana Lucía Tácuna-Calderón: Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura (CIMA), Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima 15024, Peru
Nancy Mónica García-Bedoya: Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura (CIMA), Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima 15024, Peru
Moua Yang: Division of Hemostasis and Thrombosis, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center, Harvard Medical School, Boston, MA 02215, USA
Ginés Viscor: Secció de Fisiologia, Departament de Biologia Cel·lular, Fisiologia i Immunologia, Facultat de Biologia, Universitat de Barcelona, E-08028 Barcelona, Spain
Iván Hancco-Zirena: Centro de Investigación en Medicina de Altura (CIMA), Facultad de Medicina Humana, Universidad de San Martín de Porres, Lima 15024, Peru

IJERPH, 2024, vol. 21, issue 9, 1-11

Abstract: Background: Chronic exposure to severe hypoxia causes an increase in hematocrit (Hct) and hemoglobin concentration ([Hb]), which can lead to excessive erythrocytosis (EE) and impact physical performance. This work aims to determine the differences in the six-minute walking test (6MWT) between EE and healthy subjects residing at more than 5000 m. Methods: A prospective, cross-sectional study was performed on 71 men (36 healthy and 25 suffering from EE) living in La Rinconada, Peru (5100 m). Basal levels of [Hb] and Hct were obtained. All the subjects performed the 6MWT, and distance reached, vital signs, dyspnea, and fatigue (Borg scale) at the end of the test were recorded. Results: The average [Hb] and Hct levels in the control group were 18.7 ± 1.2 g/dL and 60.4 ± 7.1%, respectively, contrasting with EE subjects, who showed 23.4 ± 1.6 g/dL and 73.6 ± 5.9% ( p < 0.001). However, no statistically significant differences were observed in BMI or other anthropometric parameters. At the end of the 6MWT, the distance traveled and vital constants were similar between both groups, except for arterial oxygen saturation, which was consistently lower in subjects with EE throughout the test. Conclusion: EE does not significantly affect 6MWT performance at high altitudes, nor the hemodynamic control during moderate aerobic exercise of subjects who live permanently in a severely hypoxic environment.

Keywords: excessive erythrocytosis; high-altitude native; La Rinconada; Andes; six-minute walking test; physical performance; hypobaric hypoxia; chronic mountain sickness; hemoglobin; hematocrit (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2024
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1119/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/21/9/1119/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:21:y:2024:i:9:p:1119-:d:1463753

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().