Ethnic variations in psychological performance under altitude stress.
Sea-level performance of 120 subjects equally drawn from Gorkha, Madrasi, and Rajput groups was compared with that at an altitude of 4,000 m after 10 months' stay. Alterations in concentration, eye-hand coordination, anxiety, depression, and social interaction were recorded to ascertain ethnic differences in withstanding the altitude stress. Results showed a uniform fall in the scores for eye-hand coordination and social interaction at altitude for the three ethnic groups. However, the effects on concentration, anxiety, and depression were differential for these groups indicating a better toleration of altitude stress by Gorkhas. Climatic similarity between the region of natural habitat of Gorkhas and altitude environment has been suggested to be responsible for their better performance over the other two groups.
D000064:Acclimatization; D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D000531:Altitude; D001288:Attention; D003863:Depression / Q000209:etiology; D005006:Ethnicity; D006801:Humans; D009048:Motor Skills; D012919:Social Behavior; D013312:Stress, Physiological