Determination of Bone Mass Using Multisite Quantitative Ultrasound and Biochemical Markers of Bone Turnover During Residency at Extreme Altitude: A Longitudinal Study

Abstract Basu, Minakshi, Anand Swarup Malhotra, Karan Pal, Tirthankar Chatterjee, Dishari Ghosh, Kaushik Haldar, Saroj Kumar Verma, Sanjeev Kumar, Yogendra Kumar Sharma, and Ramesh Chand Sawhney. Determination of bone mass using multisite quantitative ultrasound and biochemical markers of bone turnover during residency at extreme altitude: A longitudinal study. High Alt Med Biol 14:150–154, 2013.—A group of 221 male healthy volunteers of Indian Army were the subjects of the study. The baseline parameters of skeletal health were measured during their residency at an altitude of 3542 m. These subjects were then taken to an extreme altitude (EA, 5400–6700 m) where they stayed for about 4 months. The study parameters were repeated following their de-induction (DI) to 3542 m. On random selection, a subgroup was constituted from the above mentioned volunteers for detailed investigations on various bone turnover markers. Results of this study indicate a loss of body weight after DI from EA. The bone impairment w...