Renal Function in Man Acclimatized to High Altitude

Studies were carried out at the Andean Institute of Biology, Morococha, Peru (altitude 15,000 ft.) on natives who for generations have been living at high altitude. These acclimatized individuals represent a climato-physiological variety of the human race different from sea level dwellers. The mean data on all subjects showed an 11% decrease in filtration rate, a 52% decrease in effective renal plasma flow, and an 89% increase in filtration fraction, with a 44% increase in hematocrit as compared to normal sea level values taken from the literature.