Being in space destroys more red blood cells: Study
January 17: A novel study has revealed how space travel can cause lower red blood cell counts, known as space anemia.
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Analysis of 14 astronauts showed their bodies destroyed 54 per cent more red blood cells in space than they normally would on Earth, according to a study published in 'Nature Medicine'.
"Space anemia has consistently been reported when astronauts returned to Earth since the first space missions, but we didn't know why," said lead author Dr Guy Trudel, a rehabilitation physician and researcher at The Ottawa Hospital and professor at the University of Ottawa.
"Our study shows that upon arriving in space, more red blood cells are destroyed, and this continues for the entire duration of the astronaut's mission," added Dr Trudel.
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Before this study, space anemia was thought to be a quick adaptation to fluids shifting into the astronaut's upper body when they first arrived in space. Astronauts would lose 10 per cent of the liquid in their blood vessels this way. It was thought that astronauts rapidly destroyed 10 per cent of their red blood cells to restore the balance, and that red blood cell control came back to normal after 10 days in space.
Instead, Dr Trudel's team found that the red blood cell destruction was a primary effect of being in space, not just caused by fluid shifts. They demonstrated this by directly measuring red blood cell destruction in 14 astronauts during their six-month space missions.
On Earth, our bodies create and destroy 2 million red blood cells every second. The researchers found that astronauts were destroying 54 per cent more red blood cells during the six months they were in space or 3 million every second. These results were the same for both female and male astronauts.
-PTC News
