About the speaker

Dr. Richard Johnson is a Professor and Chief of the Division of Renal Diseases and Hypertension at the University of Colorado, in Denver, USA. Dr Johnson is well known as a clinician, teacher and researcher, and is one of the founding editors of Comprehensive Clinical Nephrology, a popular textbook. Dr. Johnson is especially known for his research on the pathogenesis of kidney diseases, including glomerulonephritis, diabetic nephropathy, and chronic kidney disease.

About the talk

Climate change has resulted in a mean change in temperature of about 1 degree Centigrade in the last 50 years. While this is significant, the most impressive effect has been that climate change has markedly increased heat extremes (heat waves). Perhaps 75% of current heat waves are a consequence of climate change. The impact of these heat waves can be severe for individuals spending a lot of time in the outdoors, especially those working manually in hotter regions of the world. Some of the consequences of heat exposure and accompanying dehydration are well known, and include the risk for heat stroke, for kidney stones, and for acute kidney injury from rhabdomyolysis.

Experimental studies have identified several potential mechanisms of kidney damage, including repeated but subclinical rhabdomyolysis, urate crystalluria, and renal toxicity from vasopressin. There is also some evidence that hydration with sugary beverages can accelerate kidney damage compared to hydration with water.