Heat Waves Tied to Flare-Ups of Digestive Illnes

Flare-ups of inflammatory bowel disease and “stomach bugs” may be more common during and immediately after heat waves, a new study suggests.

Swiss researchers looked at five years of records from one hospital and found more admissions related to inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) during long stretches of hot days.

Hospitalizations for so-called infectious gastroenteritis, marked by vomiting and watery diarrhea, also increased, lagging behind IBD admissions by about a week.

The study “shows clearly that climate change might have serious effects on human health that have not been understood until now,” Thomas Frei, a climatologist who worked on the study while at the Swiss National Weather and Climate Service, said.

However, one researcher not involved in the study said the findings should be interpreted cautiously.

IBD is a chronic condition that occurs when the immune system attacks the digestive tract, leading to chronic inflammation of the intestines and sometimes other parts of the digestive system like the liver. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that over one million Americans have IBD.

Link to full article by Veronica Hackenthal, MD here:

https://www.reuters.com/article/2013/08/29/us-heat-waves-idUSBRE97S12F20130829

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