Humid heat impacts dialysis patients

A nationwide study found that dialysis patients face a significantly higher risk of death during extreme humid-heat events, especially in urban areas of the southeastern U.S., underscoring their vulnerability to climate-related health threats.

• Deaths increased by 15-20% during extreme humid-heat events among adults receiving regular dialysis for kidney failure.
• The study analyzed 945,251 dialysis patients across 245 U.S. cities, linking exposure to high heat index days (i.e., >105° for 2+ days) to elevated mortality risk.
• Patients in the Southeast region experienced the highest relative risk of death, even though the number of extreme heat events was similar to other regions like the Southwest.
• Dialysis patients’ reduced ability to regulate fluid and electrolytes, coupled with other chronic health conditions, make them especially susceptible to heat stress and cardiovascular complications.
• Over the study period, 500,025 deaths occurred, with most linked to cardiac causes or sepsis and 18% higher mortality risk was observed during heat waves even after adjusting for age, poverty and dialysis duration.

This study highlights the urgent need for climate-adaptive care strategies to protect dialysis patients, especially in high-risk regions, from deadly heat-related events as global temperatures continue to rise.