Does poorer blood sugar control cause a reduced capacity to lose heat in people with type 2 diabetes?

Researchers from University of Ottawa, Canada sought to identify whether blood sugar control affects the body’s ability to lose heat during exercise in the heat. Although worse blood sugar control did not seem to impair whole-body heat loss, the association between chronically elevated blood sugar (indexed via haemoglobin A1c) with higher body core temperatures and heart rate could implicate its role in thermoregulation. Importantly, this effect did not appear to be related to the physical fitness of the participants.

The findings suggest that among people with type 2 diabetes, poor blood sugar control could lead to a greater risk of reaching dangerously high core body temperatures and greater strain on the heart during physical activity in the heat. However, more research is needed to confirm this link and understand why these impairments are observed even when heat loss is not compromised.

Reference:

Is poorer blood sugar control associated with a reduced capacity to lose heat during exercise in hot conditions for people with type 2 diabetes?; Experimental Physiology, DOI: 10.1113/EP090915.