4 ms·

High altitude is also associated with longevity, reduced heart disease, and more efficient mitochondria.

inpdx 3y ago
They do say this: "Despite a negative correlation (r = −0.31, p < 0.001) between county altitude and the all-cause mortality rate, there was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.50, p < 0.001) between altitude and suicide rate at the county level (Fig. 1)."
- deleted 3y ago
  [deleted]
adamgordonbell 3y ago
Lower BMI as well. https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/12/05/thin-air/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/12/05/thin-air/
- programmarchy 3y ago
  I'd wager a hidden factor is that slopes are more common in higher altitudes i.e. there are simply more hills and stairs one needs to navigate leading to incidental exercise.
  - PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
    Most population centers in the US west are built on flat land. Think Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque. Even relatively small (80k) Santa Fe, despite having a 5000' elevation gain on its northern edge, is itself almost entirely flat.
FollowingTheDao 3y ago
This is why it is important to take genetics into account when looking at these studies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5460084/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5460084/ Not all of us were meant to live at higher altitudes.
joadha 3y ago
Yeah, and that made me wonder whether survivorship bias could be at play. That is, populations at lower elevations see less opportunities for suicide due to individuals dying of things like heart disease, etc., before they have a chance to off themselves at a later age. But they do mention that they "[controlled] for percent of age >50 yr." Does that imply that, per county, they excluded high-elevation suicides that wouldn't have happened at lower elevations, using known mortality rates for common causes-of-death for age > 50 individuals? I'm sure the answer is in the paper somewhere, but I need to get back to work. :-)
copperx 3y ago
There's also a lower incidence of cancer in the population living in high altitudes despite being exposed to more ultraviolet light. I believe the leading hypothesis is that the higher oxygen at lower altitudes causes more oxidation.

They do say this: "Despite a negative correlation (r = −0.31, p < 0.001) between county altitude and the all-cause mortality rate, there was a strong positive correlation (r = 0.50, p < 0.001) between altitude and suicide rate at the county level (Fig. 1)."

deleted 3y ago
[deleted]

adamgordonbell 3y ago

Lower BMI as well. https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/12/05/thin-air/ https://slatestarcodex.com/2016/12/05/thin-air/

programmarchy 3y ago
I'd wager a hidden factor is that slopes are more common in higher altitudes i.e. there are simply more hills and stairs one needs to navigate leading to incidental exercise.
- PaulDavisThe1st 3y ago
  Most population centers in the US west are built on flat land. Think Salt Lake City, Denver, Albuquerque. Even relatively small (80k) Santa Fe, despite having a 5000' elevation gain on its northern edge, is itself almost entirely flat.

FollowingTheDao 3y ago

This is why it is important to take genetics into account when looking at these studies. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5460084/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5460084/ Not all of us were meant to live at higher altitudes.

joadha 3y ago

Yeah, and that made me wonder whether survivorship bias could be at play. That is, populations at lower elevations see less opportunities for suicide due to individuals dying of things like heart disease, etc., before they have a chance to off themselves at a later age. But they do mention that they "[controlled] for percent of age >50 yr." Does that imply that, per county, they excluded high-elevation suicides that wouldn't have happened at lower elevations, using known mortality rates for common causes-of-death for age > 50 individuals? I'm sure the answer is in the paper somewhere, but I need to get back to work. :-)

copperx 3y ago

There's also a lower incidence of cancer in the population living in high altitudes despite being exposed to more ultraviolet light. I believe the leading hypothesis is that the higher oxygen at lower altitudes causes more oxidation.