研究发现，出生在高海拔地区的儿童可能发育迟缓

研究发现，出生在高海拔地区的儿童可能发育迟缓

Children born at 5,000 feet or more above sea level are typically smaller at birth and more likely to remain stunted than those born at lower altitudes, according to new worldwide research published Monday.

根据周一发布的一项新的全球研究，在海拔5000英尺或更高的地方出生的孩子通常比在海拔较低的地方出生的孩子体型更小，更容易发育不良。

This was true even if the children were born into "ideal-home environments" defined as having good health coverage, higher living conditions and highly educated mothers, the study found, which meant stunting was unlikely to be due to common risk factors such as poor diet and disease.

研究发现，即使孩子出生在“理想家庭环境”中，也会出现这种情况。“理想家庭环境”的定义是拥有良好的健康保障、较高的生活条件和受过高等教育的母亲。这意味着发育迟缓不太可能是由不良饮食和疾病等常见风险因素造成的。

Growth declined as altitude grew
生长随着海拔的增加而下降

Children living in ideal home environments grew at rates deemed standard by the World Health Organization until they lived at around 500 meters (1,650 feet) above sea level, the study found. At that altitude and higher, children's height-for-age scores began to decrease.

研究发现，生活在理想的家庭环境中的儿童，直到他们生活在海拔500米(1650英尺)的地方，才会以世界卫生组织认为标准的速度成长。在那个海拔和更高海拔的地方，儿童的身高年龄分数开始下降。

At levels of 1,500 meters, or approximately 5,000 feet, above sea level, children were "born at shorter length and remained on a lower growth trajectory" than children who lived in cities at lower sea levels, according to the study published Monday in JAMA Pediatrics.

周一发表在《美国医学会杂志儿科学》上的这项研究称，在海拔1500米(约5000英尺)的地方，与生活在海拔较低城市的孩子相比，孩子“出生时长度较短，生长轨迹也较低”。

A worldwide study

一个世界性的研究

The study looked at height-for-age data for more than 950,000 children in 59 countries.

这项研究查看了59个国家超过95万名儿童的年龄身高数据。

"More than 800 million people live at 1,500 meters above sea level or higher, with two-thirds of them in Sub-Saharan Africa, and Asia," said study co-author Kalle Hirvonen, a senior research fellow at the International Food Policy Research Institute, in a statement.

“超过8亿人生活在海拔1500米或更高的地方，其中三分之二生活在撒哈拉以南的非洲和亚洲，”该研究的合著者、国际粮食政策研究所的高级研究员卡勒·希尔沃宁在一份声明中说。

However, there are a number of cities in the United States that fall above 5,000 feet, including Butte, Montana; Cheyenne, Jackson and Laramie, Wyoming; Flagstaff, Arizona; Las Vegas, Albuquerque and Santa Fe, New Mexico; Mammoth Lake, Big Bear Lake and South Lake Tahoe in California; and about 37 cities in Colorado, among others.

然而，美国有许多城市的海拔都在5000英尺以上，包括蒙大拿州的比特;夏延，杰克逊和拉勒米，怀俄明州;亚利桑那州的弗拉格斯塔夫;新墨西哥州的拉斯维加斯、阿尔伯克基和圣达菲;加利福尼亚州的猛犸湖、大熊湖和南太浩湖;以及科罗拉多州的37个城市。

In fact, Aspen, Breckenridge and Telluride in Colorado and Santa Fe in New Mexico are all above 7,000 feet above sea level.

事实上，科罗拉多州的阿斯彭、布雷肯里奇、特柳赖德和新墨西哥州的圣达菲都在海拔7000英尺以上。

Pregnancy highest risk
怀孕风险最高

The study found most of the risk was in the period leading up to and immediately after birth and may be due to lower oxygen levels at higher altitudes.

研究发现，大多数风险发生在出生前和出生后不久，可能是由于高海拔地区的低氧水平造成的。

"Pregnancies at high-altitudes are characterized by chronic hypoxia, or an inadequate supply of oxygen," Hirvonen said.

“在高海拔地区怀孕的特点是慢性缺氧，或者氧供应不足，”希尔沃宁说。

It was thought that genetic adaption to residing at high altitude over multiple generations might mitigate the stunting, but the study did not show that, Hirvonen said.

希尔沃宁说，曾有人认为，在高海拔地区多代人的遗传适应可能会减轻发育迟缓，但这项研究并没有表明这一点。

"After birth, the growth curve for children in areas 1,500 (meters) or more above sea level was consistently lower," the study found.

研究发现:“生活在海拔1500米以上地区的儿童出生后生长曲线一直较低。”

The results should educate health professionals to more closely work with pregnant women to control the effects of high altitude on the fetus, the study authors said.

该研究的作者说，研究结果应该训练卫生专业人员与孕妇密切合作，以控制高海拔对胎儿的影响。

"A first step is to unravel the complex relationship linking altitude, hypoxia and fetal growth to identify effective interventions," said study co-author Kaleab Baye director of the Center for Food Science and Nutrition in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.

“第一步是阐明海拔高度、缺氧和胎儿生长之间的复杂关系，以确定有效的干预措施，”该研究的合著者、埃塞俄比亚的首都亚的斯亚贝巴食品科学与营养中心主任卡勒巴·贝亚说。