Can increasing heat exposure worsen health of diabetics?

New Delhi, August 7

Increasing heat wave conditions due to climate change may be detrimental to the health of people with diabetes—about 537 million adults worldwide, according to a study.

A team of endocrinologists and researchers from the University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene; Tropical Medicine, and Queen Mary University of London argued that as climate change is increasing seasonal temperatures and causing more frequent heat waves, understanding their effects, especially on diabetics, has become more crucial than ever.

Hormones play a role in nearly all biological functions—controlling processes such as conservation of body water, sweating, and heat generation from cell metabolism—yet the influence of environmental factors on hormone release and action is not well characterised, they said.

Lead author Professor Fadil Hannan from the Nuffield Department of Women’s Reproductive Health at Oxford, UK, said “very little” is known about how “increased heat exposure due to climate change could affect endocrine health”.

Hannan said the research is “important for patients living in hot climates, who may have inadequate access to cooled environments”. It may help develop early interventions for endocrine patients most at risk from heat extremes.

The team examined a review of studies published from the 1940s onwards which indicates that “heat exposure affects hormones involved in processes ranging from the stress response, blood glucose control, fertility, and breast milk production”.

The “review highlights the gap in evidence regarding the impact of sustained heat exposure on the endocrine system, which is particularly relevant to the increasing numbers of people living with endocrine conditions such as diabetes mellitus or thyroid disorders” as these people may have limited tolerance to higher temperatures.

The researchers noted that certain hormonal disorders can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate temperature, making it harder to cool down and increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses, and hospitalisation for these patients. This in turn “also increases the burden of heat on the health system”, they said.