Effects of Climate Change on Kidney and Renal Diseases

Mitigation and take home messages.

Adaptive behaviors such as:

Ø Staying hydrated, using electric fans and/or air conditioning

Ø Staying indoors and avoiding outdoor activities where possible.

Ø Wearing cool and sun-protective clothing.

Interventions at the population level could include:

Ø Raising awareness through local media announcements

Ø Introducing heat warning systems

Ø Enhancing the heat response capacity of public health authorities

Ø Providing cool spaces for public use

Ø Architecture and urban design to better cope with hot environments

Take home messages

The goal of assessing health risks of heat exposure is to develop targeted interventions to reduce health impacts, since the adverse health effects are largely

preventable:

Ø By encouraging heat stress reduction in the general population.

Ø Improved monitoring of kidney function in vulnerable groups through primary health services.

Additionally, health service providers in emergency departments should be prepared for increased presentations of kidney diseases such as AKI during warm seasons.

Since extreme heat is an important risk factor for kidney disease, clinicians may need to be aware of potential nephrotoxins when prescribing medications to patients with pre-existing kidney diseases (e.g. CKD), whose conditions could be exacerbated under extreme heat.