Doctoral Dissertation Improvement: Endurance Performance in Peruvian Quechua

高海拔研究有助于理解人类的变异。在高海拔地区(2500米或8000英尺)，由于大气压力或大气压降低，氧气供应减少(缺氧)。尽管面临这一挑战，土著高海拔人口数百代人一直居住在埃塞俄比亚的安第斯山脉、喜马拉雅山脉和塞米安山脉。对高海拔原住民，特别是藏族和安第斯人的研究表明，与低海拔地区的人相比，这些人表现出更好的工作能力。大多数关于高原人的表现研究都集中在最大耗氧量(VO2max)上，这是一种衡量心血管健康状况的指标，代表了在短时间内测量的身体表现的峰值。从进化和精力充沛的角度来看，更有信息量的方面是持续长时间工作的能力(耐力)。然而，我们对安第斯人的耐力表现以及发展效应对工作能力的相对贡献的了解非常有限。因此，这项研究的目的是测试低氧对发育的影响，因为这与秘鲁克丘亚族人在高海拔地区的耐力表现有关。这项研究将使用一种新的移民方法，增加通过遗传标记进行祖先评估的方法，以评估受试者的个人祖先比例。这项研究将在秘鲁的利马(500米)和塞罗德帕斯科(4338米)进行。将在海平面招募两组人，参加为期2个月的耐力训练期。这一步对于控制心血管适应性的初始差异很重要。这两个群体将拥有克丘亚族血统，但他们的出生地(高地和低地)不同。第一组将由在海平面上出生和长大的个人组成，而第二组将由在秘鲁高地出生和长大并成年后迁徙到低地的个人组成。这项研究将通过比较出生地点不同的两组人(第一组出生在海平面，第二组在海拔4338米)，同时控制可能的混杂因素(不同的美洲原住民血统比例和不同的心肺健康水平)来评估发育对耐力表现的影响。这个项目是第一个直接解决高海拔原住民耐力表现问题的研究，包括女性，这是以前的文献中所缺乏的。此外，通过研究发展对运动成绩的影响，本研究将有助于更好地理解高原适应的机制。该项目的国际合作将有助于在生理学和体质人类学等互补学科与加强学术和研究伙伴关系之间建立一座桥梁，这将为秘鲁学生和医生提供培训机会，而在一个体质人类学代表性不足的国家。总而言之，这项研究将拓宽对秘鲁盖丘亚族原住民的人类变异和进化生理学的理解，由于纳入了生理结果，这项研究的结果可能会对其他从事卫生保健工作的高海拔研究人员和数百万生活在高原上的人感兴趣。

High altitude studies have contributed to the understanding of human variation. At high altitude (2500m or 8000 ft) there is a reduction in oxygen availability (hypoxia) because of decreased pressure in the atmosphere or barometric pressure. In spite of that challenge, indigenous high altitude populations have resided in the Andes, Himalayas and Semien Mountains of Ethiopia for hundreds of generations. Studies of high altitude natives, specifically in Tibetans and Andeans, suggest that such individuals exhibit a superior work capacity compared to lowlanders. The majority of performance research on highlanders has focused on maximal oxygen consumption (VO2max), which is a measure of cardiovascular fitness and represents a peak value of physical performance measured in a short period. A more informative aspect from an evolutionary and energetic perspective is the ability to sustain long periods of work (endurance). However, our understanding of the endurance performance and the relative contribution of developmental effects on work capacity of Andeans is very limited. Therefore, the aim of this study is to test the effects of development in hypoxia as this relates to endurance performance of Peruvian Quechua at high altitude. This study will use a novel version of the migrant approach, with the addition of ancestry evaluation via genetic markers to assess the individual ancestry proportion of the subjects. The research will be conducted in Lima (500m) and Cerro de Pasco (4,338m), Peru. Two groups will be recruited at sea-level and participate in a 2-month endurance training period. This step is important to control for initial differences in cardiovascular fitness. The two groups will have Quechua ancestry but will differ in their place of birth (highlands versus lowlands). Group 1 will consist of individuals who were born and raised at sea-level, while Group 2 will consist of individuals who were born and raised in the Peruvian highlands and who migrated to the lowlands as adults. This study will assess developmental effects on endurance performance by comparing the two groups that differ in place of birth, first at sea level, and again after transport to high altitude (4,338 m), while controlling for possible confounders (different Native American ancestry proportions and different levels of cardiorespiratory fitness). This project is the first research that directly addresses the question of endurance performance in high altitude natives, including females, which is lacking in previous literature. Also, by addressing developmental effects on exercise performance, this study will contribute to a better understanding on the mechanism of adaptation to high altitude. The international collaboration of this project will help to create a bridge between complementary disciplines, such as physiology and physical anthropology, and the strengthening academic and research partnerships, which will lead to opportunities for training of Peruvian students and physicians, in a country where physical anthropology is underrepresented. In sum, this study will broaden the understanding in human variation and evolutionary physiology in Peruvian Quechua natives and due to the incorporation of physiological outcomes, results of this research could be of interest to other high altitude researchers who work in health care and to the millions of people who live at altitude.