Caffeine at High Altitude: Java at Base Camp

Abstract

In summary, contrary to conventional wisdom, caffeine use at high altitude seems to be not only safe but likely beneficial. Fears of dehydration from caffeine are exaggerated. Its effect on ventilation and cerebral circulation and its action as a psychostimulant are likely to be helpful at altitude. Whether caffeine may prevent or ameliorateAMS deserves study. Caffeine may also help exercise performance at high altitude. Importantly, habitual caffeine users should not discontinue caffeine because of travel to altitude; the symptoms of withdrawal are very similar to acute mountain sickness and can be misdiagnosed as AMS. The issue of altitude, coronary artery disease, and caffeine in exercising patients deserves further study.

Full text

Caffeine at High Altitude: Java at Base Camp
Peter H. Hackett
Introduction
Asurvey of high altitude destination resort web sites
finds that most recommend avoiding caffeine at high
altitude. Reducing or avoiding caffeine at high altitude is also
a common admonition in visitors’ guides in Colorado and
other places. Why does caffeine use at high altitude have a bad
reputation? Is it a carry-over from a minority opinion on its
use in general (Lovett, 2005)? Does scientific evidence support
this? Does caffeine affect acclimatization, the development of
high altitude headache and acute mountain sickness, or ex-
ercise performance at altitude? A review of the scant literature
suggests that, if anything, caffeine is likely to be helpful at
altitude, rather than detrimental.
Caffeine is a xanthine alkaloid, an adenosine receptor
blocker and psychoactive stimulant. The German Friedrich
Runge discovered caffeine in 1819. He coined the term kaffein,
a chemical compound in coffee, which in English became
caffeine. Caffeine is found in varying quantities in some
plants, where it acts as a natural pesticide. Humans ingest
extracts from the cherries of the coffee plant and the leaves of
the tea bush, as well as from various foods and drinks con-
taining products derived from the kola nut and cacao plant.
Humans have apparently ingested caffeine since the Stone
Age. Beverages containing caffeine, such as coffee, tea, soft
drinks, and energy drinks, are popular today, making caffeine
the world’s most widely consumed psychoactive substance; it
is legal and unregulated in nearly all jurisdictions. Through-
out the world, it is estimated that 80% of adults consume
caffeine daily, and 90% in North America.
Pharmacodynamics and Metabolism of Caffeine
at High Altitude
Is the biology of caffeine the same at low and high altitude?
A change in the pharmacodynamics of caffeine could alter its
effects. In healthy adults at sea level, caffeine’s half-life is
approximately 4.9 h. (In women taking oral contraceptives,
this increases to 5 to 10 h, and in pregnant women the half-life
is roughly 9 to 11 h.) Caffeine is metabolized in the liver by the
cytochrome P450 oxidase enzyme system, specifically
CYP1A2. Ju
¨rgens and colleagues bAU6
(2002) studied CYP enzyme
activity at baseline and 24 and 96 h after a stay at 4559m in 12
subjects. They found no significant change in the metabolic
ratio of caffeine and only minor changes in other substance
metabolic ratios; they concluded that altitude hypoxia had
no clinically significant effects on CYP enzymes in humans.
Kamimori and colleagues bAU7
(1995a) studied micro swine after
21-day exposure to 4600 m. Caffeine clearance nearly doubled
and, consistent with Ju
¨rgens and colleagues, there was no
change in the ratio of primary metabolites. They concluded
that the increase in caffeine clearance was owing to increased
hepatic blood flow. These same investigators (Kamimori et al.,
1995b) then studied the issue in eight males after 16 days at
4300 m. Compared to sea level, the half-life of caffeine de-
creased from 6.7 to 4.7 h, the area under the curve (AUC)
decreased by 32%, and clearance increased 36%. They also
reported an increase in the AUC ratio of metabolites to caf-
feine, suggesting that either metabolite formation or elimi-
nation was increased at high altitude. These studies taken
together indicate that high altitude hypoxia appears to hasten
the clearance of caffeine and decrease the area under the
curve, in part because of increased hepatic blood flow and,
perhaps, a change in metabolism. Caffeine may thus be ex-
pected to have a shorter duration of action at high altitude
compared to low altitude.
The metabolites of caffeine contribute to caffeine’s effects.
Paraxanthine is responsible for an increase in the lipolysis
process, which releases glycerol and fatty acids into the blood
to be used as fuel by the muscles. Theobromine is a vasodi-
lator that increases the amount of oxygen and nutrient flow to
bAU5
Institute for Altitude Medicine, Telluride, CO.
HIGH ALTITUDE MEDICINE & BIOLOGY
Volume 11, Number 1, 2010
ªMary Ann Liebert, Inc.
DOI: 10.1089=ham.2009.1077
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Type: review-article

the brain and muscles. Theophylline is a smooth-muscle rela-
xant that chiefly affects bronchioles and acts as a chronotrope
and inotrope to increase heart rate and efficiency. All three of
these compounds are much weaker than caffeine. In addition,
infusions from coffee and tea plants contain other substances
with biological actions, such as theobromine in chocolate and
polyphenols in tea and coffee. Infact, research suggests that the
polyphenols in coffee can counteract some of the effects of
caffeine, making caffeinetablets, for example, a superior choice
to coffee for exercise improvement.
Clinical Effects
Does caffeine lead to dehydration?
One reason tourist literature recommends avoidance of
caffeine is because of its feared diuretic effect. The layperson
seems to exaggerate the importance of dehydration at high
altitude, and there is a mistaken belief that dehydration can
lead to AMS. While symptoms of dehydration are similar to
AMS, no compelling evidence suggests that dehydration
contributes to AMS. Nonetheless, conventional wisdom is
what it is, and many apparently think that caffeine should be
avoided for fear of dehydration leading to AMS. Caffeine, in
fact, does have diuretic properties, but only in sufficient doses
in subjects without tolerance for it. Regular users develop a
strong tolerance to this effect, and studies in athletes and
nonathletes at low altitude have generally failed to support
the common notion that ordinary consumption of caffeinated
beverages contributes significantly to dehydration (Arm-
strong et al., 2005; Millard-Stafford et al., 2007). Supporting
this, a clinical study conducted at Everest base camp (5345 m)
in 13 subjects used a crossover experimental design with two
24-h dietary interventions (Scott et al., 2004). Ingested fluid
volume was the same, but for one intervention the fluid was
mostly black tea. No other source of caffeine was allowed.
Urine volume was identical in the tea and no-tea groups, as
were other markers of hydration status. However, the tea
drinkers reported less fatigue. Unfortunately, neither ingested
dose nor blood levels of caffeine were measured. The authors
emphasized that even in an environment of cold and altitude,
where diuresis is stimulated, caffeinated tea did not increase
diuresis, while it did improve mood. (Scott et al., 2004).
Does caffeine depress ventilation?
One measure of a drug’s safety at altitude is its effect on
ventilation. Clearly, caffeine stimulates ventilation rather than
depresses it, and therefore caffeine might actually be helpful.
Although no studies have addressed whether caffeine facili-
tates acclimatization to altitude, there are good physiologic
studies suggesting that it might. Caffeine has long been docu-
mented as a respiratory stimulant. D’Urzo and colleagues
bAU6
(1990) found that caffeine increased hypoxic ventilatory re-
sponse (HVR, þ135%), hypercapnic ventilatory response
(HCVR, þ28%), and the ventilatory response to exercise
(þ14%). In addition, caffeine increased both resting ventila-
tion (41%) and metabolic rate. However, they administered a
large dose of 650 mg and to only 7 subjects. It is likely that
smaller doses would have similar but less robust effects on
ventilation. Although caffeine had only a small effect on re-
spiratory muscle fatigue at sea level (Lanigan et al., 1993), its
effect could be more pronounced at altitude, where ventila-
tion is markedly increased from sea level and muscle fatigue is
relatively more important. Caffeine has been used for decades
in neonates for treatment of apnea (Comer et al., 2001; Char-
don et al., 2004). At 4 mg=kg=day, it apparently works by in-
creasing the effectiveness of chemoreceptor activity. Caffeine
also stimulates ventilation in athletes with exercise-induced
hypoxemia. Chapman and Stager (2008) administered 7 mg=
kg to 7 adults and, although ventilation increased at all levels
of exercise, there was no change in desaturation or in HVR
and HCVR with caffeine, in contrast to the work of D’Urzo.
Whether caffeine might increase ventilation sufficiently to
speed acclimatization to altitude and thus prevent or ame-
liorate AMS is untested, but deserves investigation.
What effect might caffeine have on the cerebral cir-
culation at high altitude?
Hypoxia increases brain adenosine, which increases cere-
bral blood flow through A2A and A2B receptors located on
vascular smooth muscle. By counteracting adenosine, caffeine
reduces resting cerebral blood flow between 22% and 30%
at sea level acutely, and less so in those with chronic use
(Addicott et al., 2009). Caffeine also decreases the ratio of
CBF:CMRO
2
(cerebral blood flow to cerebral metabolic rate
for oxygen) (Chen and Parrish, 2009). Many recent studies
have investigated the effect of caffeine on BOLD responses
(blood oxygen dependent MRI) (Rack-Gomer et al., 2009) and
functional MRI responses and CBF changes (Haase et al., 2005;
Sigmon et al., 2009), and one animal study has suggested an
effect on cerebrospinal fluid formation (Han et al., 2009). All
these documented actions are theoretically beneficial for the
high altitude brain, since vasodilation and overperfusion
would be minimized without sacrificing oxygenation and
metabolism. None of these studies, however, has addressed
these issues during acute or chronic hypoxia. Research de-
signed to answer the question of the effects of caffeine on brain
physiology at altitude would be enlightening.
Could caffeine help prevent or treat AMS?
Similar to caffeine’s successful use for headaches at low
altitude, owing to its cerebral vasoconstriction properties, it is
likely that caffeine will help prevent or treat altitude head-
aches and therefore AMS because of its ability to reduce cer-
ebrovasodilation in response to hypoxia. In addition to the
AU10 cCaffeine Content of Select Common Food and Drugs
Product Serving size
Caffeine per
serving (mg)
Caffeine tablets 1 tablet 100–200
Excedrin tablet 1 tablet 65
Dark chocolate bar
(45% cacao content)
1 bar (43 g) 31
Light chocolate bar
(11% cacao content)
1 bar (43 g) 10
Percolated coffee 207 mL (7 oz) 80–135
Drip coffee 207 mL (7 oz) 115–175
Decaffeinated coffee 207 mL (7 oz) 5–15
Espresso 44–60 mL (1.5–2 oz) 100
Tall coffee 360 mL (12 oz) 240
Black tea 177 mL (6 oz) 50
Green tea 177 mL (6 oz) 30
Coca-Cola 355 mL (12 fl oz) 34
Red Bull 250 mL (8.2 fl oz) 80
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studies cited above, research has suggested that another aden-
osine blocker closely related to caffeine, theophylline, may
indeed help to prevent AMS, improve sleep at high altitude,
and reduce episodes of oxygen desaturation (Fischer et al.,
2000; Fischer et al., 2004; Ku
¨pper et al., 2008). To the extent that
these effects are owing to mechanisms in common with caf-
feine, then caffeine would also help prevent AMS. These
studies did not control for caffeine habituation. Thus, whether
these possible benefits would apply to both caffeine-habituated
and caffeine-naive persons is unknown, but a trial of caffeine
for AMS prevention in both populations would be worthwhile.
What effect might caffeine have on sleep at altitude?
Disrupted sleep is a very common complaint in newcomers
to high altitude. Caffeine promotes wakefulness and can in-
terfere with sleep at low altitude, and it likely does the same at
high altitude. It is interesting that theophylline promotes sleep
at high altitude, but this agent apparently does not encourage
wakefulness as does caffeine. To the extent that caffeine may
help prevent AMS, it could improve sleep. But until further in-
formationis available, theclinician might bewise to recommend
avoiding caffeine in the late afternoon or evening, especially in
nonhabitual users, to avoid caffeine-induced insomnia, which
could aggravate altitude-associated insomnia.
Could caffeine counteract high altitude lassitude?
Caffeine is a psychostimulant, also related to its adenosine
receptor-blocking properties (Barry et al., 2005; McClellan
et al., 2007). Since altitude exposure commonly causes fatigue
or lassitude, caffeine could be an antidote for this effect. In the
Everest tea study
AU6 c(Scott et al., 2006), there was indeed a de-
crease in fatigue with tea drinking. Whether the mechanism is
a general increase in alertness, documented with caffeine at
low altitude, or a specific interruption in pathologic processes
at altitude, the net effect may be to counteract the neurocog-
nitive effects of hypoxia. At low altitude, 200 mg of caffeine
was found comparable to 200 mg of modafinil in alleviating
the nocturnal decline in cognitive performance (Dagan and
Doljansky, 2006). A number of studies have shown compa-
rable effectiveness between caffeine (600 mg), dextroamphet-
amine (20 mg), and modafinil (200mg), with some differences
in duration, side effects, and different effects on specific cog-
nitive functions (Huck et al., 2008; Killgore et al., 2008; Kill-
gore et al., 2009). Although amphetamine, a dopamine
agonist, was shown to improve cognition and mood at high
altitude (Dillet al., 1940), there has been a surprising lack of
attention since then to the issue of neurocognitive decline and
possible neurocognitive enhancers at high altitude. Indeed,
mountaineers clearly suffer risks from these deficits, and a
systematic study of caffeine and other stimulant drugs to
counteract altitude hypoxia is long overdue.
Does caffeine impair exercise?
Perhaps caution regarding caffeine at altitude owes its con-
cern to caffeine’s effect on exercise. A large body of evidence
demonstrates that caffeine can improve exercise performance
at low altitudes. Despite differences in dose, differences with
pure caffeine (caffeine citrate) versus caffeine-containing
foods and liquids, elite versus recreational subjects, and so on,
hundreds of studies support the use of caffeine to improve
performance. The mechanisms are thought to be both central,
with reduced perceived exertion (Demura et al., 2007), and
peripheral, with increased muscular force from changes in
calcium utilization. This issue has received numerous recent
reviews (e.g., Graham, 2001; Burke, 2008; Tarnopolsky, 2008).
Burke states that a moderate dose of 3 mg=kg is adequate for
performance benefits, and perhaps even 1 mg=kg (Kolata,
2009). Would the effect of caffeine on performance be different
at high altitude? Could caffeine help ameliorate the exercise
impairment caused by hypoxia? In contrast to low altitude,
the study of caffeine and exercise at high altitude is limited.
Berglund and Hemmingsson (1982) studied cross-country
skiers and found improved race times with caffeine: faster by
1.7% at 300 m and 3.2% at 2900 m. The latter correspondedto a
decrease of 152 sec in a 21 km race, a substantial improve-
ment. Fulco and colleagues (1994) studied 8 males with sub-
maximal endurance tests to exhaustion, using placebo or
caffeine drinks (4 mg=kg) 1 h before the test. The subjects ex-
ercised at sea level, after 1 h at 4300 m, and after 2 weeks at
4300 m. Caffeine provided little improvement at sea level, but
a 54% improvement with acute hypoxia and 24% improve-
ment with chronic hypoxia. These two studies are insufficient
to allow comparison to the low altitude studies. However, they
do suggest that caffeine might confer more benefit to perfor-
mance at high altitude than at low altitude and certainlydo not
suggest that caffeine might impair exercise.
How does caffeine affect pulmonary circulation
at high altitude?
Caffeine is known to be a competitive inhibitor of the en-
zyme cAMP-phosphodiesterase (cAMP-PDE), which con-
verts cyclic AMP (cAMP) in cells to its noncyclic form, thus
allowing cAMP to build up in cells. This raises the theoretical
question of whether caffeine might influence hypoxic pul-
monary vasoconstriction by promoting relaxation of the pul-
monary arterial smooth-muscle cells. Indeed, a recent study
using pulmonary arterial rings in vitro showed attenuation of
smooth-muscle activity owing to caffeine, which was attrib-
uted to its effect on calcium signaling and ryanodine receptors
(bAU6
Zheng et al., 2008). Although the concentration of caffeine
was far above blood levels of caffeine in usual human use,
there is at least no evidence that caffeine might cause an in-
crease in hypoxic pulmonary vasoconstriction and therefore
no reason to suspect that it might contribute to the develop-
ment of high altitude pulmonary edema.
How does caffeine affect coronary circulation?
Because coffee consumption has been found to blunt
dipyridamole-induced hyperemia through adenosine A2 re-
ceptor antagonism, caffeinated foods or beverages must be
avoided before pharmacologic radionuclide stress perfusion
imaging. Namdar and colleagues (2006) investigated whether
caffeine might impair exercise-induced increases in cardiac
blood flow. They studied the acute effect of 200mg of caffeine
on myocardial blood flow (MBF) at rest and exercise in 10
subjects during normoxia and when breathing 12.5% oxygen,
simulating a 4500 m altitude. Myocardial flow reserve ( MFR)
was calculated as the ratio of hyperemic to resting MBF. Caf-
feine reduced MFR by 22% at normoxia and 39% at hypoxia.
The results were questioned by McLellan (2006), who pointed
out the limitations of the study design owing to possible order
effect. In addition, the clinical implications of the study are
unclear, since acute hypoxia of this magnitude is unrealistic in a
CAFFEINE AT ALTITUDE 3
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mountain environment for most visitors to resorts, the skiers
and trekkers. Although mountaineers can get to over 4000 m in
1 day, this is still less stressful than the immediate onset of
comparable hypoxemia. Perhaps more importantly, although
the subjects were habitual coffee drinkers, coffee was withheld
for 36 h before the study. Thus, the subjects had upregulated
adenosine receptors, and the action of acute caffeine may have
been exaggerated and not applicable in a nonwithdrawal state.
One wonders, however, if the combination of coronary artery
disease and caffeine at high altitude would reduce MBF even
more. A more recent study did suggest that this is the case
(Namdar et al., 2009); but until clinical assessment shows de-
creased exercise performance, ECG changes, symptoms, ven-
tricular wall motion, or other negative outcomes, these data
remain interesting but not compelling.
Cessation of Caffeine Intake
Recommending cessation of caffeine intake to those who
habitually use it makes the withdrawal syndrome very likely.
Adenosine receptors are upregulated in habitual caffeine
users. As a result, the increased effects of adenosine owing to
caffeine withdrawal cause cerebral vasodilation with resul-
tant headache and nausea. In addition, the increase in brain
adenosine on ascent to altitude, coupled with increased re-
ceptors owing to habituation, could cause even worse vaso-
dilation than in caffeine-naive persons. Cessation of caffeine
may also cause feelings of fatigue and drowsiness, anxiety,
irritability, inability to concentrate, and diminished motiva-
tion to initiate or to complete daily tasks; in extreme cases it
may cause mild depression. Together, these effects have come
to be known as a "crash," and the symptoms and their timing
(12 to 24 h) mimic acute mountain sickness. Withdrawal
symptoms may last for 1 to 5 days, representing the time
required for the number of adenosine receptors in the brain to
revert to normal levels, uninfluenced by caffeine consump-
tion. Thus, contrary to helping people, the recommendation to
cease caffeine at high altitude is more likely to be harmful. The
most effective treatment of caffeine withdrawal is a combi-
nation of both an analgesic and a small amount of caffeine.
One can only guess at how many cases of caffeine withdrawal
are misdiagnosed as AMS and at what role caffeine with-
drawal might play in promoting AMS.
Summary
In summary, contrary to conventional wisdom, caffeine use
at high altitude seems to be not only safe but likely beneficial.
Fears of dehydration from caffeine are exaggerated. Its effect
on ventilation and cerebral circulation and its action as a psy-
chostimulant are likely to be helpful at altitude. Whether caf-
feine may prevent or ameliorate AMS deserves study. Caffeine
may also help exercise performance at high altitude. Impor-
tantly, habitual caffeine users should not discontinue caffeine
because of travel to altitude; the symptoms of withdrawal are
very similar to acute mountain sickness and can be misdiag-
nosed as AMS. The issue of altitude, coronary artery disease,
and caffeine in exercising patients deserves further study.
Disclosures
The
AU1 cauthor has no conflicts of interest or financial ties to
disclose.
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Address correspondence to: bAU9
E-mail: hackett@hypoxia.net
Received November 10, 2009;
accepted in final form December 9, 2009.
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AUTHOR QUERY FOR HAM-2009-1077-HACKETT_1P
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AU10: Cite Table 1 in Text and check table title.
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