Long -term exposure to extreme heat events accelerates the body’s aging process and increases vulnerabilities to health problems, concludes a long -term study with 24,922 people in Taiwan.
A new one, published last week in Nature Climate Changesuggests that moderate increases in cumulative exposure to extreme heat waves increase biological age of a person – an extension comparable to regular consumption of tobacco or alcohol.
The greater the number of extreme heat events to which people were exposed, more their organs have aged.
This is the latest study to show that extreme heat can have invisible effects in the human body and accelerate the biological clock.
Exposure to extreme heat, especially for long periods of time, overload the organs and can be lethalbut “the fact that heat waves are old It’s amazing“ Paul Beggsresearcher at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who was not involved in the study.
“This study is a warning that We are all vulnerable adverse impacts of climate change on our health. It reinforces the appeals for an urgent and deep reduction of greenhouse gas emissions, ”he adds.
Aging acceleration
Age is not just the result of time. Previous studies linked several factors – including environmental and social, genetics and medical interventions – signs of physiological changes related to aging – which puts people at a higher risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.
To study long -term impacts of heat waves In aging, researchers analyzed medical examination data between 2008 and 2022.
During this period, Taiwan experienced about 30 “hot waves”that the study defined as a period of high temperature for several days.
The researchers used Results of various medical testsincluding evaluations of liver, pulmonary and renal function, blood pressure and inflammation to calculate biological age.
After compared the biological age with the cumulative temperature total participants were probably exposed based on their address in the two years before their medical visit.
The study found that The more extreme heat events People experienced, faster aged – For every extra 1.3 ° C to which a participant was exposed, about 0.023–0.031 years, on average, were added to his biological clock.
“Although the number itself may seem small, over time and through the populations, this effect may have significant implications for public health, ”says Cui Guoenvironmental epidemiologist at the University of Hong Kong and the main author of the study.
According to the study, manual workers and people in rural areas experienced the greater impacts on healthprobably because these groups are less likely to have access to air conditioning.
But there was An unexpected positive side: The impact of heat waves on aging decreased during the 15 -year study period. The reasons behind this Adaptation to heat are not clearS, but improved access to cooling technologies can play a role, says Guo.
Still, “the message is that The heat ages us a little faster than we would normally do, and this is something we would like to avoid, ”he says Alexandra Schneiderenvironmental epidemiologist at Helmholtz Munich in Germany, who was not involved in the study.
