A new study reveals that 7.4% of all hospitalizations for kidney disease can be attributed to global warming.
In Brazil – where the research was focused – this equates to more than 202,000 cases of kidney disease between 2000 and 2015. The study comes as the world focuses on the impact of climate change at the COP26 conference in Glasgow, UK .
This was considered the largest study in the world on the impact of temperature changes and kidney disease. It was led by scientists Yuming Guo and Shanshan Li, from Planetary Health at Monash University, with the support of researchers from the University of São Paulo (USP), and published in The Lancet Regional Health Americas.
The survey quantifies for the first time the risk and attributable burden of hospitalizations for kidney disease related to room temperature using daily admission data from 1,816 cities in Brazil.
A total of 2,726,886 hospitalizations for kidney disease recorded during the study period were analyzed.
According to Professor Guo, for every 1°C increase in the average daily temperature, there is an increase of almost 1% in kidney disease, with the most affected being women, children under 4 and over 80 years of age.
The associations between temperature and kidney disease were greatest on the day of exposure to extreme temperatures, but remained for 1-2 days after exposure.
In the article, the authors argue that the study “provides robust evidence that more policies need to be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations and mitigate climate change.”
“In the context of global warming, more strategies and policies must be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations.”
Public policies are needed
In 2017, a landmark article in The Lancet declared kidney disease a global public health concern, estimating that nearly 2.6 million deaths were attributed to impaired kidney function that year.
“It’s important to note that the incidence of death from kidney disease increased by 26.6% compared to a decade earlier, an increase that this study can indicate was in part caused by climate change,” the researchers said.
The authors recommend that interventions be urgently incorporated into government policy on climate change, mainly targeting women, children, adolescents and the elderly, as they are more vulnerable to heat with regard to kidney disease.
“In addition, attention should be paid to low- and middle-income countries like Brazil, where reliable heat warning systems and preventive measures are still needed,” added Professor Guo.
Reference: CNN Brasil
