Effect of elevated altitude on mental health of high plateau residents

LABA Sangzhu; LIU Ming; and SUOLANG Yangzhen

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Medical Journal of the Chinese People Armed Police Forces ›› 2016, Vol. 27 ›› Issue (12) : 1196-1198.

ORIGINAL ARTICLES

Effect of elevated altitude on mental health of high plateau residents

LABA Sangzhu¹, LIU Ming¹, and SUOLANG Yangzhen²

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Abstract

Objective To determine the effect of six-month work at an altitude of 5000 m on mental health of residents who used to live 3600 m above sea level.Methods A cross-sectional structural questionnaire survey was conducted among sixty-six staffs from an academic institution who worked at an altitude of around 5000 m.Results Of the sixty-six participants who had worked six months at an altitude of around 5000 m,39.4% and 48.5% respectively reported dreaminess and fear during their residence in a village on the plateau. Night terrors and insomnia were reported by 87.9% and 93.9% of the participants respectively. Moreover, 16.7% of the participants reported they had experienced borderline personality disorder, and 10.6% felt they were suffering from mental health illness.Conclusions Altitude elevation has some side effect on mental health. Dreaminess, night terrors, insomnia and fear are often reported. The rate of insomnia and night terrors is quite high.

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mental health / Tibet / altitude elevation

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LABA Sangzhu, LIU Ming, and SUOLANG Yangzhen. Effect of elevated altitude on mental health of high plateau residents[J]. Medical Journal of the Chinese People Armed Police Forces. 2016, 27(12): 1196-1198

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