Acute altitude-induced hypoxia suppresses plasma glucose and leptin in healthy humans.

To examine the effects of acute altitude-induced hypoxia on the hormonal and metabolic response to ingested glucose, 8 young, healthy subjects (5 men and 3 women; age, 26 +/- 2 years; body mass index, 23.1 +/- 1.0 kg/m(2)) performed 2 randomized trials in a hypobaric chamber where a 75-g glucose solution was ingested under simulated altitude (ALT, 4300 m) or ambient (AMB, 362 m) conditions.