Your bodies are faster due to the intense heat

It’s good The heat is known to cause fatigue in the body due to dehydration. But aging?

A A recent study He concluded that the intense heat accelerates the aging of the human body, which is a disturbing fact, given the frequency of increasing heat waves due to climate change.

Those looking for the effects of solar radiation on the skin, but biological aging. Unlike chronological age – that is, the answer you provide when asked about your age – your biological age reflects the quality of the work of your cells, tissues and organs. Biological age can be calculated by looking at physiological and molecular signs in the body as well as using various tests, for example by measuring lung function, cognitive ability or bone density.

Over time, the research found that exposure to severe heat can weaken physical systems, which appear in people’s blood pressure tests, cholesterol, and blood function. In the long run, this can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and dementia. The search, which was published in the magazine Nature climate changeIt was found that the effect of aging to severe heat was similar to other behaviors known as harmful to the body, such as smoking or drinking alcohol.

The researchers analyzed the long-term medical data of 24,922 people in Taiwan, collected between 2008 and 2022. During that time, the island witnessed about 30 thermal waves-specified by the research team as periods of high temperature for several days. The researchers first calculated the biological age of individuals, based on the results of various medical tests, such as liver, lung and kidney function tests. Then they compared people’s biological age with their temporal age, to find out how quickly their biological clock in their actual age. Then they referred to this information against the potential people of heat waves.

The results showed that the more extreme people in the events that people lived, the sooner their biological life in relation to their temporal age. On average, among a group of people who have studied, are exposed to heat waves of two to two to two years and 12 days to the biological age of the person.

“The same number may seem small, over time and in various population, this effect may have great impacts on public health,” said Cui Guo, an environmental epidemic at the University of Hong Kong and the author of the study. statement From nature.

The study also found that people who do physical work and those residing in rural areas were more likely to be affected by accelerated biological aging, and it is assumed that due to increased exposure to the effects of heat waves. However, an unexpected positive effect was also observed: the effect of heat exposure to biological aging has decreased over 15 years analyzed. The reason behind this is unknown, although strength indicates the potential impact of cooling techniques such as air conditioning, which has become more common in recent years.

This story was originally appeared on Wireless En español It was translated from Spanish.