Table 2. Effects of moderate altitude on metabolism and inflammation.
| Variable | 490 mn = 51 | 2590 m (day 1) n = 51 | P vs 490m* | 2590 m (day 2) n = 51 | P vs 490m* |
| Triglycerides (mmol/l) | 0.75 (0.62, 0.9) | 0.67 (0.52, 0.9) | 0.094 | 0.61 (0.49, 0.9) | 0.012 |
| Total Chol (mmol/l) | 3.70 (3.6, 4.4) | 4.0 (3.70, 4.5) | NA | 4.0 (3.5, 4.5) | NA |
| HDL Chol (mmol/l) | 1.25 (1.1, 1.41) | 1.3 (1.18, 1.5) | <0.001 | 1.33 (1.16, 1.53) | <0.001 |
| Total Chol/HDL-Ratio | 3.2 (2.7, 3.8) | 3.0 (2.6, 3.7) | 0.015 | 2.95 (2.5, 3.4) | 0.001 |
| LDL Chol (mmol/l) | 2.2 (2.0, 2.8) | 2.4 (2.0, 2.8) | NA | 2.2 (1.9, 2.6) | NA |
| LDL particle size (nm) | 26.08 (25.8, 26.5) | 26.37 (26.01, 26.71) | 0.008 | 26.53 (26.03, 26.9) | 0.048 |
| LDL I (%) | 18.8 (16.3, 23.3) | 22.2 (18.1, 26.3) | 0.009 | 21.7 (19.0, 26.1) | 0.022 |
| LDL IIA (%) | 14.8 (12.7, 16.3) | 15.1 (13.0, 16.4) | NA | 15.3 (13.7, 17.1) | NA |
| LDL IIB (%) | 20.0 (18.0, 24.1) | 18.9 (16.3, 22.7) | NA | 19.4 (16.1, 21.5) | NA |
| LDL IIIA (%) | 16.5 (14.7, 19.3) | 16.2 (13.6, 17.8) | NA | 15.4 (13.3, 18.0) | NA |
| LDL IIIB (%) | 6.4 (5.6, 7.6) | 6.0 (5.5, 7.3) | NA | 5.9 (5.1, 7.1) | NA |
| LDL IVA (%) | 9.5 (8.4, 10.2) | 8.9 (9.8, 7.8) | NA | 9.0 (8.0, 10.3) | NA |
| LDL IVB (%) | 10.6 (9.3, 12.3) | 10.1 (12.1, 9.1) | NA | 11.1 (9.4, 12.6) | NA |
| hsCRP (mg/l) | 0.44 (0.18, 0.91) | 0.26 (0.17, 0.53) | 0.024 | 0.33 (0.17, 0.5) | 0.054 |
| Interleukin-6 (pg/ml) | 0.54 (0.28, 0.94) | 0.40 (0.26, 0.62) | NA | 0.43 (0.28, 0.63) | NA |
| Interleukin-10 (pg/ml) | 0.51 (0.36,1.2) | 0.56 (0.31, 1.1) | NA | 0.64 (0.34, 0.92) | NA |
| TNF-α (pg/ml) | 0.77(0.67, 1.0) | 0.83 (0.62, 1.0) | NA | 0.77 (0.63, 1.04) | NA |
| Glucose (mmol/l) | 5.2 (5.0, 5.4) | 5.1 (5.0, 5.4) | NA | 5.1 (4.9, 5.4) | NA |
| Insulin (μU/ml) | 2.0 (2.0, 2.8) | 2.0 (2.0, 3.1) | NA | 2.0 (2.0, 2.2) | NA |
| HOMA-Index | 0.47 (0.44, 0.7) | 0.46 (0.44, 0.71) | NA | 0.47 (0.44, 0.7) | NA |
Values are medians (quartiles). Chol = cholesterol; HDL = high density lipoprotein; LDL = low density lipoprotein, LDL I, IIA, IIB, IIIA, IIIB, IVA, IVB = LDL subfractions. HsCRP = highly sensitive C-reactive protein, TNF-α = Tumor necrosis factor α. HOMA-index = Homeostatic model assessment-index = fasting insulin (μU/ml) x fasting glucose (mmol/l)/22.5. *P-values refer to post-hoc comparisons of variables with P ANOVA <0.05. NA: P ANOVA > 0.05.