Hot weather increases seriousness of diabetes

 

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GHN Editor - Diabetics have increased risk of health problems during hot weather, and that doesn't mean just temperatures over 100.  The illness requires special precautions, that most people may not know, so here they are the facts.

Researchers have found in a new survey that people with diabetes who live in hot climate have a low index of "heat awareness."  They don't know the seriousness of hot weather on the diabetic condition nor do they take the precautions they should when weather is hot.

The study is called “Diabetes in the Desert: What Do Patients Know About the Heat?”and is to be presented at The Endocrine Society’s 92nd Annual Meeting in San Diego.

Researchers from Mayo Clinic in Arizona, in collaboration with the National Ocean and Atmospheric Administration and the National Weather Service, surveyed patients at a Phoenix diabetes clinic and analyzed 152 surveys. Responses showed that people living with diabetes in hot climates need to have information about what precautions to take and why.  This is very important according to lead researcher Adrienne Nassar, MD, third-year medical resident at Mayo Clinic.

“People with diabetes have an impaired ability to sweat, which predisposes them to heat-related illness, as do uncontrolled, high blood sugars,” Nassar said. “Many patients surveyed had suboptimal glycemic control during the summer, possibly increasing their risk of dehydration.”

Past research shows that during hot weather people with diabetes are more prone to visit the emergency room, have increased hospitalizations as well as death.

Yet one in five survey respondents said they would not take precautions until temperatures exceeded 100 degrees Fahrenheit. “Heat illness can take place at 80 to 90 degrees when you factor in the heat index,” Nassar said.

Only about half of the patients knew the definition of the heat index, which is the combination of air temperature and humidity.  High humidity makes heat more dangerous because it slows the evaporation of perspiration.  Perspiration is how the body cools itself.

Heat also can also reduce the effectiveness of diabetes medications and supplies. “Oral medications as well as insulin have a therapeutic temperature range above which they lose efficacy,” Nassar said. The drug’s package insert includes information about proper temperatures for storage.

People need to check their blood sugars more frequently when temperatures are higher than normal.  Furthermore they are advised to check it while on the road, because not doing so can be unsafe.

“Increasingly more people with diabetes are living in places characterized by hot weather. Patient education focusing on diabetes management in hot climates is needed,” she said.