Researchers from Australian institutions have identified changes in human blood chemistry that appear to correlate with increasing atmospheric carbon dioxide concentrations. The study examined blood test data from approximately 7,000 U.S. participants collected between 1999 and 2020 through the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
The analysis revealed that serum bicarbonate levels increased by roughly 7 percent over the two-decade period, while average calcium and phosphorus levels declined. These biological shifts occurred as atmospheric CO2 rose from approximately 369 parts per million in 2000 to over 420 ppm in the present day. Bicarbonate functions as a key marker associated with carbon dioxide levels in the body and plays a critical role in regulating acid-base balance.
According to study authors, the body appears to be responding to elevated atmospheric CO2 by retaining additional bicarbonate to maintain blood pH stability. However, Associate Professor Alexander Larcombe cautioned that maintaining this compensatory response over extended periods could produce physiological consequences. Based on current trends, modeling suggests that average bicarbonate levels could reach the upper boundary of today’s established healthy range within 50 years, with calcium and phosphorus potentially approaching their lower limits later in the century.
The researchers stressed that their findings do not establish a direct causal relationship between rising CO2 and observed blood chemistry changes. Nevertheless, the consistency of these patterns across a large population suggests the phenomenon warrants scientific attention. Co-author Dr Phil Bierwirth indicated that human biology may be adapted to CO2 concentrations that have now been exceeded in the atmosphere.
The findings suggest that rising atmospheric carbon dioxide could represent a distinct form of climate-related health risk that differs from more commonly recognized threats such as extreme weather events and sea-level rise. The researchers recommend establishing monitoring systems that track both atmospheric composition and biological markers across populations to better understand how gradual environmental changes affect human physiology over decades.
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