Long-term exposure to extreme heat accelerates biological ageing and increases vulnerability to multiple health conditions. Medical examinations of 24,922 people in Taiwan between 2008 and 2022, spanning roughly 30 heatwaves, were analyzed to assess cumulative heat exposure and biological age. Biological age was calculated from liver, lung and kidney function tests, blood pressure measurements and inflammation markers. Moderate increases in cumulative heatwave exposure increased biological age to a degree comparable to regular smoking or alcohol consumption. Greater numbers of extreme-heat events correlated with more pronounced organ ageing. Accelerated ageing from heat exposure raises risks for cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia.
The study, published today in Nature Climate Change, suggests that moderate increases in cumulative heatwave exposure increase a person's biological age - to an extent comparable to regular smoking or alcohol consumption. The more extreme-heat events that people were exposed to, the more their organs aged. This is the latest study to show that extreme heat can have invisible effects on the human body and accelerate the biological clock.
Exposure to extreme heat, especially over long periods of time, strains organs and can be lethal, but "the fact that heatwaves age us is surprising", says Paul Beggs, an environmental-health scientist at Macquarie University in Sydney, Australia, who was not involved in the research. "This study is a wake-up call that we are all vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change on our health. It reinforces calls for urgent and deep reduction in greenhouse-gas emissions," he adds.
To study the long-term impacts of heatwaves on ageing, the researchers analysed data from medical examinations between 2008 and 2022. During that time, Taiwan experienced around 30 heatwaves, which the study defined as a period of elevated temperature over several days. The researchers used results from several medical tests, including assessments of liver, lung and kidney function, blood pressure and inflammation, to calculate biological age.
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