People with type 2 diabetes may have a reduced ability to lose heat, putting them at risk during heat stress, a study has found.
- Type 2 diabetes is a metabolic disorder mainly linked to lifestyle, says Inserm.
- 90% of diabetics are affected by it according to Inserm.
- Rising global temperatures and persistent heat waves make it difficult for people living with type 2 diabetes to manage the disease.
This is an element that worries in view of global warming and rising temperatures… According to a study published in Experimental Physiology Poor blood sugar control, which people with diabetes suffer from, could be associated with higher body temperature and increased heart rate.
This discovery is not without repercussions: by reducing diabetics’ ability to dissipate heat, it may lead to an increased risk of reaching dangerously high body temperatures and greater strain on the heart during physical activity in inclement weather. hot.
Diabetics are more sensitive to heat
Type 2 diabetes is associated with higher rates of heat illness and death from heat stress compared to the general population, the authors said.
The leader of the research team, Dr Glen Kenny, from the University of Ottawa in Canada, said: “Previous research has shown that aging is associated with a decrease in the body’s ability to dissipate heat, which is more pronounced in people with type 2 diabetes. However, it was not yet known to what extent the long-term glycemic control could influence this response. By examining whole-body heat exchange using our unique air calorimeter (a device that provides an accurate measurement of the heat dissipated by the human body), we were able to better understand the association between the long-term glycemic control and the body’s physiological ability to dissipate heat in people with t-diabetestype 2″.
The experiment was carried out on people with type 2 diabetes while they cycled in a chamber heated to 40 degrees. They were 26 men, physically active and aged 43 to 73, in whom type 2 diabetes had been diagnosed for 5 years or more.
High blood sugar is also associated with increased heart rate
After 30 minutes of seated rest, they performed three 30-minute sets of cycling, with a 15-minute rest period between each set, at light, moderate, and vigorous exercise intensities. The intensities were set based on a fixed rate of metabolic heat production relative to body size, so each participant had the same heat load (and therefore the same amount of heat) to lose, the authors say. .
Their study found that heart rate increased by six beats per minute and core body temperature by 0.2°C for each percentage point increase in the common marker of long-term blood sugar control, hemoglobin A1c (from 5.1% to 9.1%). Additionally, the researchers note that the results are based on an all-male cohort of physically active people (at least 150 minutes of exercise per week), which may not represent those most vulnerable to heat among those living with it. type 2 diabetes.
While regular exercise is generally recommended to manage and improve blood sugar control, this finding will help provide better heat protection advice to safeguard the health of these vulnerable people.
