A new study says that rising heat conditions could be harmful to those who… diabetes Which affects about 537 million adults worldwide. A team of endocrinologists and researchers from the University of Oxford, London School of Hygiene; Tropical Medicine and Queen Mary University of London were part of this study.

As climate change leads to higher seasonal temperatures and more frequent heat waves, understanding their impacts, particularly on people with diabetes, is more important than ever, the researchers said.

Diabetes is a condition in which your blood sugar (glucose) levels are high. A person usually develops this condition when his pancreas does not make enough insulin or no insulin at all or when his body does not respond to the insulin produced by the pancreas. Anyone can get diabetes and in most cases, it is a chronic condition.

Hormones play a role in nearly all biological functions, regulating most processes in the body such as water conservation, sweating and heat generation from cell metabolism, yet the influence of environmental factors on hormone secretion and action has not been well defined, the researchers said.

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

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

The team reviewed studies published since the 1940s, which showed that “exposure to heat affects hormones involved in processes such as stress response, blood sugar control, fertility and breast milk production”.

“The review highlights a gap in the evidence regarding the effects of chronic heat exposure on the endocrine system, which is particularly relevant to the increasing number of people with endocrine diseases such as diabetes or thyroid disorders” as these people may have limited tolerance to high temperatures.

The researchers found that certain hormonal disorders can disrupt the body’s ability to regulate temperature, making it harder to cool the body and increasing the risk of heat-related illnesses and hospitalisation for these patients. They said this also “increases the heat burden on the healthcare system”.

A previous study published in Diabetes Care said doctors treating diabetes should ask their patients about exposure to high or low temperatures in their homes and neighborhoods. “While an epidemiological study such as ours in itself should not change clinical decision making, I expect that clinicians will become more mindful of the environments experienced by patients with diabetes,” said Charles Leonard, an LDI senior fellow who was part of the study. Such conversations could, for example, change a patient’s decision to live in or travel to a very hot area.

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