A gradual rise in global temperatures that has intensified over the past decade is associated with a higher risk of kidney disease, according to a study published in the journal Kidney Medicine.
The risk for renal colic—kidney stones or infections leading to pain and, often, hospitalization—rises 2.4% for each increase of a single degree Celsius (33.8 Fahrenheit) in daily ambient temperature, Hoimonty Mazumder, MBBS, PhD, MPH and colleagues write in a systemic review of 26 epidemiological studies across multiple global climate zones.
“People worldwide are experiencing extreme temperatures—very hot and very cold conditions—and these weather extremes are impacting human health,” says Mazumder, a physician-scientist and postdoctoral researcher in the Department of Environmental and Occupational Health.
Most of the studies focused on information about hospital admissions and emergency department visits in the United States, China, South Korea, Italy, Australia, Canada, Spain, Vietnam and Israel. The analysis further suggests heightened vulnerability in tropical and upper-middle-income regions with no evidence from low-income nations, underscoring climate-related health inequities. While cold temperatures showed a smaller (yet statistically insignificant) association the findings provide evidence of heat-related acute kidney outcomes.
“These findings show robust evidence linking heat exposure to acute kidney outcomes, highlighting the importance of climate-sensitive kidney health research, particularly as global temperatures continue to rise and disproportionately affect vulnerable populations,” says Mazumder.
In addition to Mazumder, who completed the work as a doctoral student at the University of Memphis in Tennessee, other study authors are associated with Daffodil International University, Dhaka, Bangladesh; Emory University, Atlanta; the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, Memphis; University of Tennessee, Knoxville; Oak Ridge (Tenn.) National Laboratory; and the University of Houston, Texas.
Mazumder’s work as part of Pitt Public Health’s Rust to Resilience (R2R) Research Center, which investigates the impact of temperature changes and environmental factors on cardio-renal outcomes in Appalachian region. Her ongoing work (Fig. 1) shows warming temperature trends across Northern Appalachia (New York, Pennsylvania, West Virginia) compared to trends across Central or Southern Appalachia. Mazumdar’s work aims to assess whether these shifts worsen chronic disease risk in the context of environmental metals and other environmental stressors.