title: Acute and Chronic Altitude-Induced Cognitive Dysfunction in Children and Adolescents.
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  To assess whether exposure to high altitude induces cognitive dysfunction in young healthy European children and adolescents during acute, short-term exposure to an altitude of 3450 m and in an age-matched European population permanently living at this altitude.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tested executive function (inhibition, shifting, and working memory), memory (verbal, short-term visuospatial, and verbal episodic memory), and speed processing ability in: (1) 48 healthy nonacclimatized European children and adolescents, 24 hours after arrival at high altitude and 3 months after return to low altitude; (2) 21 matched European subjects permanently living at high altitude; and (3) a matched control group tested twice at low altitude.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Short-term hypoxia significantly impaired all but 2 (visuospatial memory and processing speed) of the neuropsychological abilities that were tested. These impairments were even more severe in the children permanently living at high altitude. Three months after return to low altitude, the neuropsychological performances significantly improved and were comparable with those observed in the control group tested only at low altitude.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Acute short-term exposure to an altitude at which major tourist destinations are located induces marked executive and memory deficits in healthy children. These deficits are equally marked or more severe in children permanently living at high altitude and are expected to impair their learning abilities.
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Clinical Research, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Stefano F
authors.initials: SF
authors.lastname: Rimoldi
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Clinical Research, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Emrush
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Rexhaj
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Hervé
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Duplain
authors.affiliation: Research Unit, Child and Adolescent Psychiatric Service, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Sébastien
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Urben
authors.affiliation: Psychological Sciences Research Institute, Catholic University of Louvain, Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
authors.forename: Joël
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Billieux
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Clinical Research, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland.
authors.forename: Yves
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Allemann
authors.affiliation: Bolivian Institute of Altitude Biology (IBBA), La Paz, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Catherine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Romero
authors.affiliation: Bolivian Institute of Altitude Biology (IBBA), La Paz, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Alejandro
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Ayaviri
authors.affiliation: Bolivian Institute of Altitude Biology (IBBA), La Paz, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Carlos
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Salinas
authors.affiliation: Bolivian Institute of Altitude Biology (IBBA), La Paz, Bolivia.
authors.forename: Mercedes
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Villena
authors.affiliation: Department of Cardiology and Clinical Research, University Hospital, Bern, Switzerland; Department of Biology, University of Tarapacá, Arica, Chile.
authors.forename: Urs
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Scherrer
authors.affiliation: Department of Internal Medicine, University Hospital, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: Claudio.Sartori@chuv.ch.
authors.forename: Claudio
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Sartori
mesh_terms: D000208:Acute Disease; D000293:Adolescent; D000531:Altitude; D000532:Altitude Sickness / Q000150:complications*; D002648:Child; D002908:Chronic Disease; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D003072:Cognition Disorders / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D000860:Hypoxia / Q000150:complications; D008297:Male; D008569:Memory Disorders; D009483:Neuropsychological Tests