News — Global warming may increase undernutrition through the effects of heat exposure on people, according to a new study published this week in PLOS Medicine by Yuming Guo of Monash University, Australia, and colleagues.
It has been well documented that global warming will indirectly result in more undernourished people through threatening crop production in the long term. In the new study, researchers analyzed daily hospitalization data that covers nearly 80% of the population of Brazil, spanning the years 2000 through 2015. They studied the link between daily mean temperatures and hospitalization for undernutrition.
For every 1°C increase in daily mean temperature during the hot season, there was a 2.5% increase in undernutrition hospitalization (OR=1.025, 95% CI 1.020–1.030, p<0.001). People under age 19 years or over age 80 years with undernutrition were the most vulnerable to heat exposure. Overall, heat exposure was estimated to be responsible for 15.6% (95% CI 9.0–21.4) of undernutrition hospitalization during the study period. That fraction increased from 14.1% to 17.5% over the study period, during which time the mean temperature increased by 1.1°C.
“The possible pathways of this direct impact of heat might include reducing undernourished people’s food intake, impairing their digestion and absorption function, and causing fluid and electrolyte disturbances,” the authors say. “Global strategies addressing the syndemic of climate change and undernutrition should not only focus on food supply but also the prevention of heat exposure especially among the young and elderly people.”
Funding:
RX was supported by China Scholarship Council [grant number 201806010405] (). QZ was supported by a Monash Graduate Scholarship and Monash International Postgraduate Research Scholarship (). SL was supported by the Early Career Fellowship of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [grant number APP1109193] (). YG was supported by the Career Development Fellowship of the Australian National Health and Medical Research Council [grant number APP1107107 & APP1163693] (). The funding bodies did not play any role in the study design, data collection, data analyses, results interpretation and writing of this manuscript.
Competing Interests:
I have read the journal's policy and the authors of this manuscript have the following competing interests: YG is a member of the Editorial Board of PLOS Medicine. MA holds investigator-initiated grants from Pfizer and Boehringer-Ingelheim for unrelated research and an unrelated consultancy from Sanofi. The other authors declare no actual or potential competing financial interests.
Citation:
Xu R, Zhao Q, Coelho MSZS, Saldiva PHN, Abramson MJ, Li S, et al. (2019) The association between heat exposure and hospitalization for undernutrition in Brazil during 2000−2015: A nationwide case-crossover study. PLoS Med 16(10): e1002950.
Image Credit: David Mark, Pixabay
Author Affiliations:
Department of Epidemiology, School of Public Health and Management, Binzhou Medical University, Yantai, Shandong, China
Department of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia
Institute of Advanced Studies, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil
Press-Only Preview of the Article:
In your coverage please use this URL to provide access to the freely available paper:
About PLOS Medicine
PLOS Medicine publishes articles on biomedical, environmental, social and political determinants of human health worldwide. The journal accepts a variety of study designs including clinical trials, observational studies, diagnostic and prognostic tools, epidemiology, predictive and explanatory modeling, qualitative studies and clinically oriented translational research. For more information, visit , and follow @PLOSMedicine on Twitter.
Media and Copyright Information
For information about PLOS Medicine relevant to journalists, bloggers and press officers, including details of our press release process and embargo policy, visit
PLOS journals publish under a , which permits free reuse of all materials published with the article, so long as the work is cited.
About the Public Library of Science
Public Library of Science (PLOS) is a nonprofit Open Access (OA) publisher, innovator and advocacy organization dedicated to accelerating progress in science and medicine by leading a transformation in research communication. The PLOS suite of journals contain rigorously peer-reviewed Open Access research articles from all areas of science and medicine, together with expert commentary and analysis. In addition to journals, the organization advances innovations in scientific publishing through Collections, Communities and The PLOS Blog Network. Founded to catalyze a revolution in scientific publishing by demonstrating the value and feasibility of Open Access publication, PLOS is committed to innovative and forward-looking solutions to scientific communication. For more information, visit .
Disclaimer
This press release refers to upcoming articles in PLOS Medicine. The releases have been provided by the article authors and/or journal staff. Any opinions expressed are the personal views of the contributors, and do not necessarily represent the views or policies of PLOS. PLOS expressly disclaims any and all warranties and liability in connection with the information found in the release and article and your use of such information.
RSS