Scientists have discovered a surprising shift in human blood as carbon dioxide rises in the atmosphere
Rising levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere may already be affecting human biology. New research has identified long-term changes in blood chemistry that appear to track rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere2Raising concerns that an important blood marker could approach the upper end of its healthy range within the next few decades.
The results may be especially important for children and adolescents. Because their bodies are still developing, younger generations are expected to have the greatest lifetime exposure to high levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere.2.
Decades of blood data reveal a shift
In a study published in Air quality, atmosphere and healthScientists from the Children’s Research Institute of Australia, Curtin University and the Australian National University (ANU) examined more than 20 years of US population health data. They found persistent changes in several blood chemistry measures that closely track the upward trend of atmospheric carbon dioxide.2.
The researchers used information from the US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), where they analyzed blood test results from about 7,000 people at two-year intervals between 1999 and 2020.
Since 1999, average serum bicarbonate levels have increased by about 7 percent. Bicarbonate is a blood marker that is closely related to carbon dioxide in the body. During the same period, average calcium and phosphorus levels decreased.
These biological trends occurred in the form of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere2 It has risen from about 369 parts per million (ppm) in 2000 to more than 420 ppm today.
Study author Associate Professor Alexander Larcombe said the results indicate that the body may already be adapting to changes in the composition of the atmosphere.
Professor Larcombe said: “What we are seeing is a gradual shift in blood chemistry that reflects the rise in carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, which is driving climate change.”
How does the body respond to more carbon dioxide?2
Bicarbonate is necessary to regulate acid-base balance in the body. As a company2 As pH increases, the body can retain additional bicarbonate to help keep blood pH stable. Although this response helps maintain this balance, maintaining it for long periods may have physiological effects.
Professor Larcombe said: “If current trends continue, modeling suggests that average bicarbonate levels could approach the upper limit of today’s acceptable healthy range within 50 years.”
“Calcium and phosphorus levels could also reach the lower end of their healthy ranges later this century.”
Humans evolved when carbon dioxide was created in the atmosphere2 Concentrations were approximately 280 to 300 ppm. Over the past decade, atmospheric levels have risen by an average of about 2.6 parts per million each year, while 2024 alone will see an increase of 3.5 parts per million.
Fellow author Dr Phil Bierwirth, a retired environmental geologist affiliated with the Honors College at the Australian National University, stressed that the study does not prove a direct relationship between cause and effect. However, he said the consistency of changes across a large population deserves attention.
“I actually think what we’re seeing is that our bodies aren’t adapting,” Dr. Bierwirth said.
“We seem to have adapted to a combination of carbon dioxide2 In the air which may have been surpassed by now.
“The normal range maintains a delicate balance between the amount of carbon dioxide2 In the air, blood pH, respiratory rate, and bicarbonate levels in the blood.
“ACE Company.”2 It is now higher in the air than humans have ever seen before, and it appears to be accumulating in our bodies. We may never be able to adapt to this, which makes it extremely important to reduce carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere2“.
A potential new dimension to climate risk
Researchers say the results indicate that rising carbon dioxide in the atmosphere2 They can represent a form of climate-related risk that is different from familiar threats such as heatwaves, extreme weather and sea level rise.
According to A/Prof Larcombe, increased carbon dioxide2 It may need to be viewed not only as an environmental concern, but also as a long-term public health factor that should be monitored.
“We are not saying that people will suddenly feel unwell when we cross a certain threshold,” he said.
“But this suggests that there may be gradual physiological changes occurring at the population level, and this is something we should monitor as part of future climate change policy.”
Researchers recommend monitoring atmospheric composition along with biological markers among populations. Tracking both along with specific climate indicators can help scientists determine how slow environmental changes will affect human biology over decades.
a company2 The reduction can have health effects
Cutting company2 Emissions remain essential to limit global warming. The findings also raise the possibility that reducing emissions may have an additional role in protecting human health in the long term.
The researchers believe that the possible physiological effects of high carbon dioxide2 They should therefore be taken into account in future climate policy discussions, along with their established environmental consequences.
Associate Professor Larcombe is part of the Wall Yan Center for Respiratory Research, a partnership between the Children’s Research Institute of Australia, Perth Children’s Hospital and Perth Children’s Hospital Foundation.
