2009-2019: A comparative study on CMS of plateau migrants around ten years

Abstract BackgroundChronic mountain sickness (CMS), is a common disease occurred to people who migrate to plateau. Current CMS studies in different periods or areas have poor comparability due to the inconsistent diagnosis methods. Here we carried out a comparative study of the CMS prevalence in the year 2019 and 2009, to provide evidence for the prevention and diagnosis of CMS. Methods The Qinghai CMS Scoring System (Qinghai standard) was used to investigate the subjects who lived for at least months in the 3300-5400 m altitude area in 2019 and 2009, respectively. Their prevalence and symptom scores were also analyzed and statistically compared.ResultsThe prevalence of CMS in 2019 survey subjects (15.60%) was significantly lower than that in 2009 (31.18%). The prevalence of dyspnea, venous dilatation, paresthesia, headache, tinnitus, and hemoglobin concentration reached 21g/dL or above decreased significantly among the survey subjects in 2019. The scores of cyanosis, venous dilatation, paresthesia, and headache significantly decreased in the 2019 survey subjects. But among the CMS patients, the sleep disturbance scores of the 2019 survey subjects increased significantly. ConclusionCompared to 2009, the health level of high altitude living population in 2019 has been significantly improved, indicating that the sleep research on high-altitude living population and the application of high altitude oxygen therapy has been effective in the past ten years. Among the CMS associated symptoms, sleep disturbance is an important indicator for the prevention and diagnosis of CMS, which deserves special attention.