Extreme heat can cause faster aging of the elderly, novel research finds

Rachel Morello-Frossch, scientists from the University of California in Berkeley, there is also a debate about whether epigenetic clocks are the best measure of aging. How to best measure biomarkers and how to utilize them to predict future health, is a “developing space in the field of scientific,” she said.

Epigenetic changes are not necessarily bad, and the study does not explain whether they can reflect positive adaptation to heat instead of negative, said Greg Wellenius, an environmental epidemiologist at Boston University School of Public Health. He said that people in hotter areas could acclimatize in the heat, potentially, spending more time in the room. But simply “an indication that there is a measurable change at the cellular level” is a step towards understanding the effect of heat on the body.

Experts say that there are still many questions that can be answered: how can things such as air conditioning affect epigenetic aging? Can brief visits in warmer areas cause faster aging? Can a departure from scorching areas reversed it?

Because the analysis was based on a single blood sample from each subject: “We don’t really have such longitudinal data,” said Jennifer Ailshire, a professor of gerontology and sociology at the USC Leonard Davis School of Gerontology and the second author of the study.

Marian Arcaya, a professor of urban planning and public health at the Massachusettts Institute Institute, said that this study can open the door to future research on how interventions such as air conditioning or more shadow can stop the adverse effects of aging.

“At the moment literature is very concentrated:” Can you survive in extreme heat without medical intervention? “She said. However, this study suggests that even if people are not exposed to the immediate risk of health crises or death because of the heat, “the effect may still occur.”