Description of study participants by altitude level
| Mustang | Humla | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2800 m | 3270 m | 3620 m | 2890 m | ||
| (N=165) | (N=61) | (N=44) | (N=251) | ||
| Continuous variables | Mean (SD) | p Value | |||
| Age | 50.3 (13.7) | 55.4 (13.2) | 48.3 (12.5) | 42.9 (11.0) | <0.001 |
| Average walk time/day (min) | 53.0 (44.8) | 95.6 (79.9) | 73.2 (53.0) | 89.4 (89.6) | <0.001 |
| Categorical variables | |||||
| N/165* (%) | N/61* (%) | N/44* (%) | N/251* (%) | ||
| Sex | 0.47 | ||||
| Male | 80 (48.5) | 29 (47.5) | 19 (43.2) | 103 (41.0) | |
| Female | 85 (51.5) | 32 (52.5) | 25 (56.8) | 148 (59.0) | |
| Education | <0.001 | ||||
| No formal education/illiterate | 67 (40.6) | 41 (67.2) | 29 (65.9) | 168 (66.9) | |
| Less than primary | 45 (27.3) | 19 (31.1) | 6 (13.6) | 18 (7.2) | |
| Primary level completed | 25 (15.1) | 0 (0) | 4 (9.1) | 20 (8.0) | |
| Secondary level completed | 28 (17.0) | 1 (1.6) | 5 (11.4) | 45 (17.9) | |
| Occupation | <0.001 | ||||
| Government or non-government employee | 25 (15.1) | 1 (1.6) | 7 (15.9) | 39 (15.5) | |
| Self-employed | 86 (52.1) | 6 (9.8) | 14 (31.8) | 21 (8.4) | |
| Agriculture/daily waged labour | 41 (24.8) | 39 (63.9) | 21 (47.7) | 135 (53.8) | |
| Unemployed/retired/homemaker | 13 (7.9) | 15 (24.6) | 2 (4.5) | 56 (22.3) | |
| Ethnicity | <0.001 | ||||
| Tibetan | 132 (80.0) | 58 (95.1) | 37 (84.1) | 82 (32.7) | |
| Indo-Aryans | 33 (20.0) | 3 (4.9) | 7 (15.9) | 169 (67.3) | |
| High-altitude residence | <0.001 | ||||
| For lifetime | 148 (89.7) | 59 (96.7) | 38 (86.4) | 246 (98.0) | |
| >10 years | 17 (10.3) | 2 (3.3) | 6 (13.6) | 2 (0.8) | |
| 5–10 years | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 3 (1.2) | |
| Current smoker | 17 (10.3) | 2 (3.3) | 4 (9.1) | 97 (38.6) | <0.001 |
| Current drinker | 84 (50.9) | 39 (63.9) | 20 (45.4) | 123 (49.0) | 0.17 |
| Hypertension or medication | 76 (46.1) | 25 (40.9) | 24 (54.5) | 73 (29.1) | <0.001 |
| Overweight or obesity | 81/143 (56.6) | 16/60 (26.7) | 21 (47.7) | 52/251 (20.7) | <0.001 |
| High TC/HDL ratio or medication | 34/139 (24.0) | 3/54 (5.6) | 11/37 (29.7) | 46/167 (27.5) | <0.01 |
| Diabetes or medication | 15/142 (10.6) | 2/61 (3.3) | 6 (13.6) | 6/172 (3.5) | 0.01 |
*Except where indicated; hypertension, ≥140/90 mm Hg; overweight, body mass index ≥25 kg/m2; obesity, body mass index ≥30 kg/m2; high TC/HDL ratio, ≥5.0; diabetes, HbA1c ≥48 mmol/mol.
HbA1c, glycated haemoglobin; HDL, high-density lipoprotein-cholesterol; TC, total cholesterol.