Climate change may contribute to rising rates of chronic kidney disease

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-05/ason-ccm042916.php

Public Release: 5-May-2016
Climate change may contribute to rising rates of chronic kidney disease
As temperature rises worldwide, dehydration and heat stress may take a toll on the kidneys
American Society of Nephrology

Highlights

Chronic kidney disease that is not associated with traditional risk factors appears to be increasing in rural hot communities as worldwide temperature progressively rises.
The condition has likely increased due to global warming and an increase in extreme heat waves, and it is having a disproportionate impact on vulnerable populations.
Climate change has been increasingly connected to detrimental human health.

Washington, DC (May 5, 2016) -- Climate change may be accelerating rates of chronic kidney disease caused by dehydration and heat stress, according to research appearing in an upcoming issue of the Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology (CJASN). The findings suggest that a condition called heat stress nephropathy may represent a disease of neglected populations, but one that may emerge as a major cause of poor kidney health in the near future.

Over the next century, climate change and resulting water shortages are likely to affect a wide variety of health issues related to dehydration and heat stress--with risks increasing for cognitive dysfunction, malnutrition, water-borne infectious diseases, chronic kidney disease, and other conditions.

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