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Horakova, Lenka, Peter Paal, Jacqueline Pichler Hefti, Marija Andjelkovic, Beth A. Beidleman, Mia Derstine, David Hillebrandt, Dominique Jean, Kastė Mateikaitė-Pipirienė, Alison J. Rosier, Susi Kriemler, and Linda E. Keyes. Women's health at high altitude: An introduction to a 7-part series by the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation Medical Commission. High Alt Med Biol. 24:243–246, 2023. Background: Women have been traveling to high altitude since the inception of modern mountaineering. Although there are distinct female-specific features such as menstruation and menopause relevant to adaptation to and performance at high altitude, very little data exist on women's high-altitude health. To summarize what is known to date, the Medical Commission of the International Climbing and Mountaineering Federation (UIAA) has created a series of articles on women's health, high altitude illness, and performance at high altitude. Methods: Assembling an international author team, two types of manuscripts were developed: (1) reviews on female-specific topics such as pregnancy; (2) reviews on sex differences in high-altitude related illnesses, nutrition, cold injuries, and mortality. Results: The literature search yielded 7,165 articles, with 482 studies meeting the inclusion criteria for full-text review. The authors of individual chapters reviewed these articles and performed additional hand searches. Conclusions: Some important questions on women sojourning and exercising at high altitude have been studied, but many are still awaiting a qualified and evidence-based response. Our seven reviews, to be published in future issues of this journal, summarize what is known about lowland women sojourning at high altitude, provide recommendations, and highlight knowledge gaps in high altitude women's medicine. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Andjelkovic, Marija, Peter Paal, Susi Kriemler, Kaste Mateikaite-Pipiriene, Alison Rosier, Beth Beidleman, Mia Derstine, Jacqueline Pichler Hefti, David Hillebrandt, Lenka Horakova, Dominique Jean, and Linda E. Keyes. Nutrition in women at high altitude: a scoping review—UIAA Medical Commission recommendations. High Alt Med Biol. 25:9–15, 2024. Background: Nutritional concerns such as food composition, energy intake, and nutrient absorption are essential for performance at high altitude and may differ between men and women. We performed a scoping review to summarize what is currently known on nutrition for women during short-term, high-altitude, physically active sojourns. Methods: The UIAA Medical Commission convened an international team to review women's health issues at high altitude and to publish updated recommendations. Pertinent literature from PubMed and Cochrane was identified by keyword search combinations (including nutrition, metabolism, energy composition, micronutrients) with additional publications found by hand search. Results: We found 7,165 articles, of which 13 original articles assessed nutritional aspects in physically active women on short-term high-altitude sojourns, with other articles found by hand search. We summarize the main findings. Conclusions: Data on women's nutrition at altitude are very limited. Reduction in energy intake plus increased energy expenditure at high altitude can lead to unbalanced nutrition, negatively influencing high-altitude adaptation and physical performance. Therefore, adequate dietary and fluid intake is essential to maintaining energy balance and hydration at high altitude in women as in men. Iron supplementation should be considered for women with iron depletion before travel. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]