Risk of Diabetes Decreases Among Highland Residents

A large-scale study involving 320,000 people in Bolivia, Peru, and Colombia revealed that the prevalence of type 2 diabetes is 45 percent lower among those living at altitudes above 2,500 meters above sea level compared to their counterparts residing in lowlands and coastal areas.

The journal Science Advances published the report, which offers a molecular explanation for this phenomenon: hypoxia stimulates the production of the protein HIF-1alpha, which increases cellular sensitivity to insulin and enhances glucose uptake.

According to Dr. Maria Espinoza, the lead author from the University of San Andrés in La Paz, experiments on mice exposed to conditions simulating an altitude of 3,000 meters showed a 30 percent improvement in fasting blood sugar levels over eight weeks. She explained that “the body at high altitude reprograms metabolism to use fats rather than carbohydrates as the primary energy source, thereby reducing the demand for insulin.”

• An increase in the number of mitochondria in muscle cells, which burns sugar more efficiently.

The researchers noted that relocating humans to mountains is not a viable treatment for diabetes, but drugs that mimic the HIF-1alpha pathway may be developed in the future. Additionally, physical exercise in hypoxic chambers has begun to show promising results. The report concluded that nature has provided us with a free prescription for combating diabetes: living at high altitudes, or at least training at lower altitudes.