Heat Tolerance and Occupational Heat Exposure Limits in Older Men with and without Type 2 Diabetes or Hypertension

To mitigate rises in core temperature >1°C, the American Conference of Governmental Industrial Hygienists (ACGIH) recommends upper limits for heat stress (action limit values [ALV]), defined by wet-bulb globe temperature (WBGT) and a worker's metabolic rate. However, these limits are based on data from young men and are assumed to be suitable for all workers, irrespective of age or health status. We therefore explored the effect of aging, type 2 diabetes (T2D), and hypertension (HTN) on tolerance to prolonged, moderate-intensity work above and below these limits.

Core temperature and heart rate were assessed in healthy, heat unacclimatized young (18-30 yr, n = 13) and older (50-70 yr) men (n = 14) and heat unacclimatized older men with T2D (n = 10) or HTN (n = 13) during moderate-intensity (metabolic rate: 200 W·m-2) walking for 180 min (or until termination) in environments above (28°C and 32°C WBGT) and below (16°C and 24°C WBGT) the ALV for continuous work at this intensity (25°C WBGT).

Work tolerance in the 32°C WBGT was shorter in men with T2D (median [IQR]; 109 [91-173] min; P = 0.041) and HTN (120 [65-170] min; P = 0.010) compared with healthy older men (180 [133-180] min). However, aging, T2D, and HTN did not significantly influence (i) core temperature or heart rate reserve, irrespective of WBGT; (ii) the probability that core temperature exceeded recommended limits (>1°C) under the ALV; and (iii) work duration before core temperature exceeded recommended limits (>1°C) above the ALV.

These findings demonstrate that T2D and HTN attenuate tolerance to uncompensable heat stress (32°C WBGT); however, these chronic diseases do not significantly impact thermal and cardiovascular strain, or the validity of ACIGH recommendations during moderate-intensity work.