Despite their disproportionate burden to the risks of heat stress, there is still little real-world data showing how older adults’ health responds during heatwaves, as older populations are considered an under-served group in health research (4). The “It’s Getting Hot in Here” study, led by Mary Ni Lochlainn, Ruth Bowyer, and Josh Foster, all within the Centre for Ageing Resilience in a Changing Environment (CARICE), aims to fill this gap. By closely monitoring older adults during periods of high temperature, the study seeks to understand how physiology and lifestyle interact to shape vulnerability and resilience to heat, as heatwave-related deaths are expected to reach over 7,000 per year by 2050 (3). With these findings, heat-related mortality can be prevented, as nearly 3,000 excess deaths among older adults were recorded during the 2022 heatwave (3). Understanding who is most at risk and why is essential to prevent future heat-related illness and strengthen community resilience. The main objectives of the study are to explore and understand the phenotypic response of older adults to heat stress, and to gauge the feasibility of data collection on older adults during heat stress events.
This 18-month study followed 41 participants aged over 60 over the summer. The data collection for this prospective observational study involved biological and environmental data measured at 3 different timepoints: 1) before heatwave (May-June 2025), 2) during heatwave (Mid-June-August 2025), and 3) after heatwave (October-November 2025). The study integrates wearable technologies, environmental sensors, and in-person visits to capture real-time changes in both health and surroundings. Wearables tracked heart rate, sleep duration and quality, and daily activity, while small indoor sensors monitored temperature and humidity. Biological samples, such as blood, urine, and stool, were collected to investigate how heat exposure affects the heart, kidneys, immune system, and gut microbiome. Questionnaires and simple physical and cognitive tests complete the picture, offering insights into how environmental stress interacts with health, wellbeing, and resilience. The scope of this study–and of the data we’ve collected–is comprehensive, reflecting the complexity of heat-related health impacts. By combining biological and environmental data, the project provides an extensive understanding of how individuals experience and adapt to heat stress. “It’s Getting Hot in Here” contributes to a broader global conversation about ageing, inequality, and climate adaptation.
This project is about building resilience: helping people age well in a changing climate. As the study is still ongoing, we hope our research contributes to global efforts to make health systems more climate-ready and communities more adaptive. The data and partnerships emerging from It’s Getting Hot in Here will feed into a wider plan for protecting older populations against climate extremes, turning science into real-world impact. By combining health research and climate action, we hope our findings can inform policies, guide intervention strategies, and inspire future research on ageing and climate change.
References:
1. Barton, C., Sturge, G. and Harker, R. (2024). The UK’s changing population. [online] House of Commons Library. Available at: https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/the-uks-changing-population/.
2. Cramer, M.N., Gagnon, D., Laitano, O. and Crandall, C.G. (2022). Human temperature regulation under heat stress in health, disease, and injury. Physiological Reviews, [online] 102(4), pp.1907–1989. doi:https://doi.org/10.1152/physrev.00047.2021.
3. Excess mortality during heat-periods - Office for National Statistics [Internet]. [cited 2024 Oct 6]. Available from:
https://www.ons.gov.uk/peoplepopulationandcommunity/birthsdeathsandmarriages/de aths/articles/excessmortalityduringheatperiods/englandandwales1juneto31august2022# excess-mortality-during-heat-periods-2016-to-2022
4. Goodwin, V.A., Low, M., Quinn, T.J., Cockcroft, E., Shepherd, V., Evans, P., Henderson, E., Mahmood, F., Mary Ní Lochlainn, Needham, C., Underwood, B.R., Arora, A. and Witham, M. (2023). Including older people in health and social care research: best practice recommendations based on the INCLUDE framework. Age and Ageing, 52(6). doi:https://doi.org/10.1093/ageing/afad082.
5. Nzvere FP, Tariq E, Nishanth K, Arshid A, Cancarevic I. Long-Term Cardiovascular Diseases of Heatstroke: A Delayed Pathophysiology Outcome. Cureus [Internet]. 2020 Aug 7 [cited 2024 Nov 16];12(8):e9595. Available from: https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC7416985/
6. Turning up the heat: learning from the summer 2022 heatwaves in England to inform UK policy on extreme heat - Grantham Research Institute on climate change and the environment [Internet]. [cited 2024 Nov 16]. Available from: https://www.lse.ac.uk/granthaminstitute/publication/turning-up-the-heat/