title: Prevalence of and risk factors for acute mountain sickness among a cohort of high-altitude travellers who received pre-travel counselling.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Acute mountain sickness (AMS) is common in high-altitude travellers, and may lead to life-threatening high-altitude cerebral oedema. To better target pre-travel counselling, we aimed to characterize the risk factors for AMS that may be identified prior to departure.
  
  
  METHODS
  We performed a descriptive study of high-altitude travellers who consulted at a travel clinic before departure. Data were collected by phone after their return, using a standardized questionnaire.
  
  
  RESULTS
  162 adults were enrolled. Most subjects (81.5%) were informed about AMS before departure, by a medical doctor in 40% of cases. AMS symptoms were reported by 77 travellers (47.5%). Variables significantly associated with AMS symptoms were female sex (56% versus 38.5%, p = 0.01), trip organised by a travel agency (55.2% versus 43.3%, p = 0.03), travel duration (mean, 4.2 ± 3.5 weeks in patients with AMS, versus 6.6 ± 7.5 weeks in patients without AMS, p = 0.014), and acetazolamide use (71.4% versus 47.5%, p = 0.045). In multivariate analysis, only female sex was independently predictive of AMS (adjusted OR 2.15 [1.14-4.40]).
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  AMS symptoms occur in almost half of high-altitude travellers. Women, and travellers leaving for short duration, within trips organised by travel agencies, should be targeted for enhanced pre-travel counselling to prevent AMS.
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Maud
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Santantonio
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Marc
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Chapplain
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France. Electronic address: pierre.tattevin@chu-rennes.fr.
authors.forename: Pierre
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Tattevin
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Hélène
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Leroy
authors.affiliation: Département de Médecine Générale, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Eric
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Mener
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Laboratoire de parasitologie, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Jean-Pierre
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Gangneux
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Michelet
authors.affiliation: Centre de vaccination et de conseils aux voyageurs, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Rennes, France; Service des Maladies Infectieuses et Réanimation Médicale, Hôpital Pontchaillou, Université Rennes I, Rennes, France.
authors.forename: Matthieu
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Revest
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease / Q000453:epidemiology; D000328:Adult; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000517:prevention & control*; D005260:Female; D006266:Health Education; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009051:Mountaineering / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D015995:Prevalence; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012307:Risk Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014195:Travel / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D057236:Travel Medicine; D055815:Young Adult
keywords: Acetazolamide; Acute mountain sickness; High-altitude; Prevention; Travel