Decreased Work Capability Related to High-Altitude Exposure

Area of Science:

• Physiology
• Environmental Medicine
• Sports Science

Background:

• High-altitude environments pose significant challenges to human work capacity and can be life-threatening.
• Understanding the effects of high-altitude exposure on performance is crucial, yet comprehensive reviews are scarce.
• This study addresses the need for a consolidated overview of work capability at high altitudes.

Purpose of the Study:

• To review parameters for evaluating work capability in high-altitude environments.
• To summarize potential pathophysiological mechanisms underlying altitude-induced performance decrements.
• To identify and synthesize available pharmacological and non-pharmacological strategies for enhancing work capacity at high altitudes.

Main Methods:

• Comprehensive literature searches were conducted across major scientific databases (PubMed, Google Scholar, CNKI) from 1968 to 2023.
• Keywords included "work capability/performance and high-altitude hypoxia" and "work/exercise at high altitude".
• Basic and clinical studies were included, with conference proceedings, notes, and case reports excluded; de-duplication was performed using CiteSpace 6.1.R3.

Main Results:

• An initial search yielded 727 papers, with 241 relevant studies remaining after de-duplication and screening.
• Twenty-one papers investigated the mechanisms behind reduced work capability at high altitudes.
• Ninety-four papers focused on strategies to improve work capability during high-altitude exposure.

Conclusions:

• This review synthesizes current knowledge on evaluating work capability, understanding pathomechanisms, and implementing improvement strategies for high-altitude exposure.
• Further basic research into the underlying mechanisms is warranted.
• Large-scale, randomized controlled clinical trials are needed to validate the efficacy of proposed improvement strategies.