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Oxygen consumption by resting humans at different altitudes on Mount Elbrus

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The purpose of the study was to test experimentally the “hypoxic paradox” of growing or constant oxygen consumption by normal humans exposed to O2-deficient environments. The objective was to perform detailed statistical analysis of O2 consumption at two altitudes above sea level under the conditions of the metabolic close to the basal one and to develop an analytical expression for adequate description of O2 consumption dependence on the altitude above sea level. The investigation was performed in August 2009 at altitudes of 2224 and 4200 m on Mount Elbrus slopes with participation of four volunteers. It was shown that O2 consumption by resting humans decreases with altitude; i.e., the “hypoxic paradox” is invalid. An analytical expression was proposed to describe the changes in O2 consumption in the interval of altitudes from 0 to 4200 m above sea level.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Biomedical Problems, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, 123007, Russia

    A. V. Dyemin

  2. Institute of General Physics, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow, Russia

    A. I. Diachenko

  3. Zubov Research and Manufacturing Association, St. Petersburg, Russia

    A. I. Ivanov

Authors
  1. A. V. Dyemin
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  2. A. I. Diachenko
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  3. A. I. Ivanov
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Correspondence to A. V. Dyemin.

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Original Russian Text © A.V. Dyemin, A.I. Diachenko, A.I. Ivanov, 2010, published in Aviakosmicheskaya i Ekologicheskaya Meditsina, 2010, Vol. 44, No. 3, pp. 68–71.

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Dyemin, A.V., Diachenko, A.I. & Ivanov, A.I. Oxygen consumption by resting humans at different altitudes on Mount Elbrus. Hum Physiol 40, 837–840 (2014). https://doi.org/10.1134/S0362119714070044

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