In a finding that explains why people living at altitude are far less likely to develop diabetes than those at lower elevations or at sea level, a team of United States-based scientists has discovered that red blood cells act like “glucose sponges” in low-oxygen conditions.
Most high-altitude populations consistently demonstrate improved glucose tolerance.
However, health experts have previously been unable to solve the long-standing puzzle of why diabetes is less common among people living at higher elevations.
Published in the science journal Cell Metabolism in February (2026), the Gladstone Institutes’ findings point to an adaptation in red blood cells at high altitude that sees them “more efficiently deliver oxygen to tissues”, with the “beneficial side effect” of reducing blood sugar.
“Red blood cells represent a hidden compartment of glucose metabolism that has not been appreciated until now,” said Gladstone researcher and University of California San Francisco biochemistry assistant professor Dr Isha Jain.
The mechanism of this protection has remained a mystery, according to the institution.
The team’s researchers had previously observed that mice given low-oxygen air to breathe had “dramatically” lower blood sugar levels, but they could not pinpoint the process behind the drop until now.
“Our findings thus open new therapeutic avenues,” the team concluded in their paper.
“There’s still so much to learn about how the whole body adapts to changes in oxygen, and how we could leverage these mechanisms to treat a range of conditions,” Assist Prof Jain said.
So should diabetes patients move to the Himalayas?
Heading to a high altitude isn’t the only way to seek potential benefits of hypoxia, or insufficient oxygen.
Previous research has shown that high-intensity exercise is also effective at managing blood sugar for people with, or at risk of, type 2 diabetes. – dpa
