live at least 8,202 feet (2,500 meters) above sea level, mainly in South America, Central Asia and East Africa.
include Wenquan in China’s Qinghai province, at a staggering 15,980 feet (4,870 m) above sea level, and Korzok in India, around 15,000 feet (4,572 m) above sea level.
.” Officially named La Rinconada, its 50,000 inhabitants live between 16,404 feet (5,000 m) and 17,388 feet (5,300 m) above sea level, making it the highest permanent settlement on Earth.
. Food is imported from lower altitude regions and electricity was only installed in the town in the 2000s.
. But the price of gold is that inhabitants must live in extreme conditions with up to half the oxygen pressure that exists at sea level.
Mountain sickness
going up. This is because less oxygen is available in the air, so the lungs and heart need to work harder to nourish tissues.
, a professor emerita of anthropology at Case Western Reserve University in Ohio, told Live Science.
— the protein within red blood cells that carries oxygen — in the blood would also plummet, Beall said. The higher the altitude, the stronger all these responses would be, she said.
(AMS) as the body tries to adjust to lower oxygen levels. This can cause symptoms such as headaches, fatigue, nausea and a loss of appetite.
Usually after about a week or two at high altitude, a person’s heart rate and breathing will quieten down slightly as the body begins to make more red blood cells and hemoglobin to compensate for the low oxygen levels in the air, Beall said.
Adapting to altitude
However, highlanders, like those living in La Rinconada, have seemingly adapted to low-oxygen environments in many ways.
for people who are exposed to high altitude, particularly before adolescence,” Beall said.
of red blood cells.
(3,050 m) for many months or years and causes symptoms such as fatigue, shortness of breath and aches and pains. Around one in four people in La Rinconada are estimated to suffer from CMS.
for patients with CMS, although the safety and efficacy of these treatments in the long run is still unknown.
through their body, Beall said.
in a group of Andean highlanders, which scientists are now trying to investigate further.
