Active ascent accelerates the time course but not the overall incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness at 3,600 m

Abstract

This research demonstrated that active ascent accelerated the time course but not overall incidence and severity of acute mountain sickness (AMS) following rapid ascent to 3,600 m in unacclimatized lowlanders. Active ascenders became sicker faster and recovered quicker than passive ascenders, which may be due to differences in body fluid regulation. Findings from this well-controlled large sample-size study suggest that previously reported discrepancies in the literature regarding the impact of exercise on AMS may be related to differences in the timing of AMS measurements between studies.