Impact of short-term exposure to extreme temperatures on diabetes mellitus morbidity and mortality? A systematic review and meta-analysis

The relationship between diabetes mellitus and short-term exposure to extreme temperatures remains controversial. A systematic review and meta-analysis were performed to assess the association between extreme temperatures and diabetes mellitus morbidity and mortality. PubMed, Embase, the Cochrane Library, Web of Science, and the Cumulative Index to Nursing and Allied Health Literature (CINAHL) were searched since inception to January 1, 2019, and updated on November 17, 2020. The results were combined using random effects model and reported as relative risk (RR) with 95% confidence interval (CI). In total, 32 studies met the inclusion criteria. (1) Both heat and cold exposures have impact on diabetes. (2) For heat exposure, the subgroup analysis revealed that the effect on diabetes mortality (RR=1.139, 95% CI: 1.089-1.192) was higher than morbidity (RR=1.012, 95% CI: 1.004-1.019). (3) With the increase of definition threshold, the impact of heat exposure on diabetes rose. (4) A stronger association between heat exposure and diabetes was observed in the elderly (>= 60 years old) (RR=1.040, 95% CI: 1.017-1.064). In conclusion, short-term exposure to both heat and cold temperatures has impact on diabetes. The elderly is the vulnerable population of diabetes exposure to heat temperature. Developing definitions of heatwaves at the regional level are suggested.

Automated summary

The relationship between short-term exposure to extreme temperatures and diabetes mellitus remains controversial. A systematic review and meta-analysis found that both heat and cold exposures have an impact on diabetes. Heat exposure has a greater effect on diabetes mortality than morbidity, especially in the elderly. Developing regional definitions of heatwaves is recommended.