Variation of urinary pH and bicarbonate concentrations of students in metropolitan and rural areas of Japan.

Changes in urinary pH and bicarbonate levels were studied in urine collected before and after final examinations taken by 91 medical students (65 males, 26 females) in Tokyo and from 87 students (73 males, 14 females) in Kanazawa, a rural municipality. Bicarbonate levels and pH in the urine of students in both cities increased significantly after attending 2 h of final examinations. The highest pH value and highest bicarbonate level were 7.66 and 80.3 mM, respectively, found in the urine of a student in Kanazawa. Urinary pH and bicarbonate levels averaged 6.48 and 11.1 mM, respectively, for students in Tokyo and 6.26 and 8.91 mM, respectively, for students in Kanazawa. Given that the concentrations of carbon dioxide in the air of the classrooms in both cities increased drastically during the final examinations (i.e., from 700 ppm to 1 200 ppm in Tokyo and from 700 ppm to 1 500 ppm in Kanazawa), it appears that the increases in urinary pH and bicarbonate levels were correlated with the increase of carbon dioxide (known to be convertible to bicarbonate in blood) in the rooms. This was also supported by the increase in urinary pH and bicarbonate levels found in urine collected from 20 students who stayed in a cinema for 3 h, at which location carbon dioxide levels in air reached 1 200 ppm.