Important clues to how people develop type 2 diabetes have been discovered on Mt. Everest. Research results are based on analysis that has been conducted on climbers atop Mt. Everest.

The research was led by the University of Southampton and the University College London in the UK. The results have been published in the journal PLOS One.

Mount Everest is more 8,800 meters high, making it the highest mountain on the planet. At this height, oxygen levels are a third of what they are at sea level. Although many studies would not be suited for such conditions, the high altitude levels showed how hypoxia, or oxygen levels within the body, are related to the development of insulin resistance.

Insulin resistance is a condition that occurs when cells do not respond to insulin within the body. Insulin allows the body to properly regulate sugar levels. Too much sugar can be toxic to the body and leads to the development of type 2 diabetes.

The researchers discovered that many markers of insulin resistance were increased after a prolonged exposure, six to eight weeks, to hypoxia at high altitudes. This change is linked to increased blood levels of markers for oxidative stress and inflammation.

Professor of Anaesthesia and Critical Care at the University of Southampton, and co-founder of UCL CASE Medicine, Mike Grocott, told EurekAlert, “These results have given us useful insight into the clinical problem of insulin resistance. Fat tissue in obese people is believed to exist in a chronic state of mild hypoxia because the small blood vessels are unable to supply sufficient oxygen to fat tissue.”

He continues to explain, “Our study was unique in that it enabled us to see things in healthy people at altitude that which we might normally only see in obese people at sea level. The results suggest possible interventions to reduce progression towards full-blown diabetes, including measures to reduce oxidative stress and inflammation within the body.”