Objective To assess the high altitude adaptability of railway coach crew members and its influencing factors by monitoring their physiological parameters, and to provide reference for future occupational health supervision and work arrangement guidance.
Methods Pulse oximeter, tonometer, fundus photography, and Lake Louise self-assessment questionnaires were performed on 98 randomly selected coach attendants during the entire journey to examine saturation oxygen (SaO2), intraocular pressure, fundus conditions, and occurrence of acute mountain sickness (AMS).
Results The oxygen partial pressures of the coach compartments and the blood oxygen pressures of the attendants were negatively correlated with altitude. In the 98 studied subjects, AMS was presented in varying degrees in 94 attendants, and the AMS scores were obviously higher for the attendants with shorter on-duty hours and higher workload (P<0.05). Moreover, 83 subjects presented retinal vascular engorgement and 21 subjects presented retinal hemorrhage and papilledema.
Conclusion Existing coach oxygen-rich measures cannot sufficiently prevent occurrence of AMS. Both on-duty hours and workload may affect coach attendants' altitude adaptation. Retinal vascular changes can be used as an important indicator of AMS in railway coach attendants.
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