Altitude illness in Qinghai–Tibet railroad passengers.

It takes ≈24 h to travel the ≈3000-km-long Qinghai–Tibet railroad of which 85% is situated above 4000 m with a pass at 5072 m. Each year about 2 million passengers are rapidly exposed to high altitude traveling on this train. The aim of this study was to quantify the occurrence of altitude illness on the train.

Reduced incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness in Qinghai-Tibet railroad construction workers after repeated 7-month exposures despite 5-month low altitude periods.

The construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad provided a unique opportunity to study the relation between intermittent altitude exposure and acute mountain sickness (AMS). For 5 yr, workers spent 7-month periods at altitude interspaced with 5-month periods at sea level; the incidence, severity, and risk factors of AMS were prospectively investigated. Six hundred lowlanders commuted for 5 yr between near sea level and approximately 4500 m and were compared to 600 other lowland workers, recruited each year upon their first ascent to high altitude as newcomers, and to 200 Tibetan workers native to approximately 4500 m.

Who should not go high: chronic disease and work at altitude during construction of the Qinghai-Tibet railroad.

From 2001 to 2005, a new railroad linking Beijing with Lhasa was built by more than 100,000 workers, of whom 80% traveled from their lowland habitat to altitudes up to 5000 m to work on the railroad. We report on the medical conditions of 14,050 of these altitude workers, specifically with regard to preexisting illness. All subjects were seen at low and high altitude.

High-altitude gastrointestinal bleeding: an observation in Qinghai-Tibetan railroad construction workers on Mountain Tanggula.

Aim: To investigate the gastrointestinal bleeding (GIB) in people from lowland to high altitude and in workers on Mountain Tanggula and its causes as well as treatment and prophylaxis.

Methods: From 2001 to October 2003, we studied GIB in 13502 workers constructing the railroad on Mountain Tanggula which is 4905 m above the sea level. The incidence of GIB in workers at different altitudes was recorded.