[Genetic susceptibility for acute high altitude disease]

Acute high altitude disease(AHAD), which can be divided into acute mountain disease (AMS), high altitude pulmonary edema (HAPE) and high altitude cerebral edema (HACE), is one of the special illnesses occurred at high altitude, commonly encountered by travelers to high altitudes (>2 500 m), which affects people's work capacity and health and could be even a life-threatening disease. Despite extensive investigations over the last century, the pathophysiology of AHAD remains elusive. Nevertheless, numerous researches have confirmed the existence of AHAD susceptibility differences. The aim of this paper was to review the epidemiological evidence for a genetic component to the various forms of AHAD so far, as well as to supply helpful reference to its epidemiological studies.