Projection of high temperature-related burden of kidney disease in Australia under different climate change, population and adaptation scenarios: population-based study

Author: Jingwen Liu, Blesson M. Varghese, Alana Hansen, Keith Dear, Geoffrey Morgan, Timothy Driscoll, Ying Zhang, Michelle Gourley, Anthony Capon, Peng Bi

Year: 2023

Published in: The Lancet Regional Health - Western Pacific

The dual impacts of a warming climate and population ageing lead to an increasing kidney disease prevalence, highlighting the importance of quantifying the burden of kidney disease (BoKD) attributable to high temperature, yet studies on this subject are limited. The study aims to quantify the BoKD attributable to high temperatures in Australia across all states and territories, and project future BoKD under climatic, population and adaptation scenarios.

It is expected that increasing high temperature exposure will substantially contribute to higher BoKD across Australia, underscoring the urgent need for public health interventions to mitigate the negative health impacts of a warming climate on BoKD.