Heatwaves May Age You As Much As Smoking Or Drinking. Here's Why

A new study suggests that frequent exposure to heatwaves can accelerate the body's biological ageing process at a rate comparable to that of smoking or drinking. Researchers from the University of Hong Kong in China analysed medical data from nearly 25,000 Taiwanese individuals over a 14-year period. The study compared participants' health markers with the number of heat waves they likely experienced based on their home addresses.

The research, which has been published in Nature Climate Change, indicates a direct correlation between increased heatwave exposure and higher scores on biological markers associated with accelerated ageing. Biological ageing, which measures the functional health of cells, tissues, and organs, differs from chronological ageing, which is simply a measure of time. The research showed that moving from one exposure group to the next was linked to an increase in biological age of 0.023 to 0.031 years. 

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This places heatwave exposure in a significant category alongside other known lifestyle factors, such as diet, exercise, smoking, and alcohol consumption, in its potential impact on the ageing process. The study highlights the need to understand the physiological stresses of a warming planet on human health.

"Previous studies have highlighted the detrimental impacts of heat waves on age-related health conditions, particularly among the elderly, suggesting that ageing might be an important modifiable factor in response to heat waves," write the researchers in their published paper.

"Understanding heatwave-ageing associations helps to explain the potential mechanism for the health impacts of heatwaves and facilitate population adaptation to climate change."