Global warming is responsible for 7.4% of kidney diseases

On Sunday, in Glasgow, the twenty-sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP26) began. The stakes are enormous as the climate crisis continues. A new study published October 31 in the journal The Lancet Regional Health – Americas, is putting his finger on one of the direct health consequences of rising temperatures: kidney disease. Focusing specifically on the case of Brazil, researchers from Australia at Monash University and Brazilian researchers from the University of São Paulo showed that 7.4% of hospital admissions for kidney disease are attributable to global warming.

Another degree is worth 1% more than kidney disease

It is the world’s largest study on the impact of temperature changes and kidney disease. This focused on Brazil, between 2000 and 2015, and revealed that more than 200,000 hospitalizations are a direct result of rising temperatures. To do this, the researchers used daily hospital admission data from 1,816 cities in Brazil. The study included a total of 2,726,886 hospital admissions for kidney disease recorded during the study period.

The researchers noted that if the average daily temperature increased by 1°C, there was an approximately 1% increase in kidney disease. The most affected are women and children under the age of four and those aged 80 and over. Associations between temperature and kidney disease are strongest on the day of exposure to extreme temperatures, but remain for one to two days after exposure.

Protection of the most fragile

The researchers believe their study provides “Strong evidence that more policies should be developed to prevent heat-related hospitalizations and mitigate climate change.The authors advise urgently incorporating interventions into government policy on climate change, particularly by targeting those most at risk. Thus they refer to women, children, teens, and the elderly as they are more susceptible to heat when it comes to kidney disease. “In addition, attention should be paid to low- and middle-income countries such as Brazil, where reliable heat warning systems and preventive measures are still needed.‘, they added.

Already in 2017, the researchers say, the increased risk of kidney disease due to global warming was highlighted. Then it was noted that the mortality rate from kidney disease increased by 26.6% compared to the previous decade. The increase that would be due to climate change.