Does living at moderate altitudes in Austria affect mortality rates of various causes? An ecological study

ObjectivesThe effects of altitude residence on ageing, longevity and mortality are poorly understood. While adaptations to chronic exposure to altitude may exert beneficial effects on cardiovascular risk factors and some types of cancer, an elevated risk to die from chronic respiratory diseases has been reported. Moreover, high-altitude residence may be correlated with increased depression and suicide rates. The present study tested the hypothesis that living at moderate altitudes (up to 2000 m) is associated with reduced mortality from all causes.Setting and participantsWe used a dataset comprising all deaths (n=467 834) across 10 years of a country (Austria) characterised by varying levels of altitudes up to 2000 m.Main outcome measuresTotal number of deaths, age-standardised mortality rates (ASMRs) per 100 000 population, cause-specific ASMRs.ResultsASMRs for residents living in higher (>1000 m) versus lower (