Preparing for Heat Waves - Enhancing Human Thermophysiological Resilience (Prep4heat)

April 24, 2024 updated by: Maastricht University Medical Center
As the ongoing progression of climate change exposes individuals to elevated temperatures and an escalating frequency of extreme heat events, the risk of more intense and prolonged heat waves raises significant concerns for public health, particularly among vulnerable populations. The physiological response to acute heat stress involves involuntary thermolytic reactions that may strain the cardiovascular system, especially in individuals with pre-existing vulnerabilities. Heat acclimation has been identified as a potential strategy to enhance thermoregulation and mitigate the adverse effects of heat stress. While existing research primarily focuses on athletes and military, this study aims to investigate the impact of a practical heat acclimation strategy, combining passive and active heat exposure, on thermophysiological, cardiovascular and metabolic parameters in healthy overweight adults. The study targets a population at increased risk for heat-related complications, seeking to provide realistic guidelines for broader application when a heat wave appears on the weather forecast.

Study Overview

Status

Status

Indicates the current recruitment status or the expanded access status.
Not yet recruiting

Conditions

Conditions

The disease, disorder, syndrome, illness, or injury that is being studied. On ClinicalTrials.gov, conditions may also include other health-related issues, such as lifespan, quality of life, and health risks.

Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.

Detailed Description

A non-randomized, within-subject experimental trial will be conducted. The complete study will consist of a screening day, a control week, a heat acclimation week, 3 heat stress test (HST) and meal-test (MT) days (t = -7, 0, and 8 (days)). To avoid a confounding effect of seasonal thermal differences and achieve maximal methodological quality, the study will be performed in the shortest possible timeframe for each participant. Given the seasonal fluctuations in NL, transitioning from April (~7oC) to June (~20oC), a crossover design is not applicable as a washout period of approximately 2 months would be needed and the measurements would likely take place in different climatic outdoor conditions. In total, 12 healthy male and female participants will be included in the study. During the no-intervention week (week 1), participants will be asked to continue their normal life at home, without being present at the university. In addition, during week 1, participants will be asked to wear a temperature sensor on their clothing to measure the environment temperature they are exposed to at home. Thereafter, on the intervention week (week 2), participants will be exposed to increasing elevated temperatures and undergo 30 min of low-to-moderate intensity cycling in the heated laboratory room for 7 days. The temperature settings are derived from past heat waves in the Netherlands, ensuring a realistic representation. The low exercise intensity is selected to be accessible to the majority of individuals within the target population. The HST-MT will be conducted on the first visit after the screening to serve as baseline measurements. The same tests will also be repeated before and after the heat acclimation week to determine the physiological response to increasing ambient temperatures. All measurements will take place in the Metabolic Research Unit of Maastricht University (MRUM), the Netherlands.

Study Type

Study Type

Describes the nature of a clinical study. Study types include interventional studies (also called clinical trials), observational studies (including patient registries), and expanded access.
Interventional

Enrollment (Estimated)

Enrollment

The number of participants in a clinical study. The "anticipated" enrollment is the target number of participants that the researchers need for the study.
12

Phase

Phase

The stage of a clinical trial studying a drug or biological product, based on definitions developed by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The phase is based on the study's objective, the number of participants, and other characteristics. There are five phases: Early Phase 1 (formerly listed as Phase 0), Phase 1, Phase 2, Phase 3, and Phase 4. Not Applicable is used to describe trials without FDA-defined phases, including trials of devices or behavioral interventions.
  • Not Applicable

Contacts and Locations

This section provides the contact details for those conducting the study, and information on where this study is being conducted.

Study Contact

Study Contact

The name and contact information for the person who can answer enrollment questions for a clinical study. Each location where the study is being conducted may also have a specific contact, who may be better able to answer those questions.

Participation Criteria

Researchers look for people who fit a certain description, called eligibility criteria. Some examples of these criteria are a person's general health condition or prior treatments.

Eligibility Criteria

Eligibility Criteria

The key requirements that people who want to participate in a clinical study must meet or the characteristics they must have. Eligibility criteria consist of both inclusion criteria (which are required for a person to participate in the study) and exclusion criteria (which prevent a person from participating). Types of eligibility criteria include whether a study accepts healthy volunteers, has age or age group requirements, or is limited by sex.

Ages Eligible for Study

  • Adult
  • Older Adult

Accepts Healthy Volunteers

Yes

Description

Inclusion Criteria:

  • Healthy males and females
  • 60 to 80 years
  • BMI 25-30 kg/m2
  • Sedentary (<2h exercise/week)

Exclusion Criteria:

  • Presence of chronic cardiovascular disease, as determined by medical history and physical examination
  • Participating in a structured exercise program
  • Taking hot baths/saunas regularly
  • Travelled for a prolonged time to destinations with elevated temperatures the last 3 months
  • Pre-existing T2DM
  • Blood donation within a month of study initiation
  • People with low haemoglobin concentration (males: Hb = 13.5-17.5 g/dL, females: Hb = 11.5-15.5 g/dL)
  • Recent participation in biomedical study (less than 1 month)
  • Using any medication that may influence glucose or lipid metabolism (beta-blockers, thyroid medications, stimulants, antidepressants, anticoagulants)
  • Smoking or abuse of alcohol

Study Plan

This section provides details of the study plan, including how the study is designed and what the study is measuring.

How is the study designed?

Design Details

  • Primary Purpose: Prevention
  • Allocation: N/A
  • Interventional Model: Single Group Assignment
  • Masking: None (Open Label)

Arms and Interventions

Participant Group / Arm

Participant Group / Arm

A group or subgroup of participants in a clinical trial that receives a specific intervention/treatment, or no intervention, according to the trial's protocol.
Intervention / Treatment

Intervention / Treatment

A process or action that is the focus of a clinical study. Interventions include drugs, medical devices, procedures, vaccines, and other products that are either investigational or already available. Interventions can also include noninvasive approaches, such as education or modifying diet and exercise.
Experimental: Heat acclimation
Passive heat exposure (29-35ºC; 6h/day for 7 days) in combination with 30min/day low-to-moderate intensity cycling.
Other: Heat acclimation
Daily repeated heat exposure to assess the effects of combined passive and active heat acclimation

What is the study measuring?

Primary Outcome Measures

Primary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, the planned outcome measure that is the most important for evaluating the effect of an intervention/treatment. Most clinical studies have one primary outcome measure, but some have more than one.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Core temperature
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
thermophysiological parameters (ºC)
1 week of heat acclimation

Secondary Outcome Measures

Secondary Outcome Measures

In a clinical study's protocol, a planned outcome measure that is not as important as the primary outcome measure for evaluating the effect of an intervention but is still of interest. Most clinical studies have more than one secondary outcome measure.
Outcome Measure
Measure Description
Time Frame
Skin temperature
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
thermophysiological parameters (ºC)
1 week of heat acclimation
Sweat rate
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
thermophysiological parameters (mL/min)
1 week of heat acclimation
Heart rate
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
cardiovascular parameters (bpm)
1 week of heat acclimation
Blood pressure
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
cardiovascular parameters (mmHg)
1 week of heat acclimation
Skin blood flow
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
cardiovascular parameters (mL/min)
1 week of heat acclimation
Energy expenditure
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
Metabolic parameters (kJ/min)
1 week of heat acclimation
Substrate oxidation
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
glucose and fat oxidation (umol/kg/min)
1 week of heat acclimation
Plasma metabolites
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
Plasma glucose, insulin, free-fatty acids, triglycerides, total cholesterol (mmol/L)
1 week of heat acclimation
Brain blood flow
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
additional cardiovascular parameters (mL/min)
1 week of heat acclimation
Flow-mediated dilation
Time Frame: 1 week of heat acclimation
endothelial function, (mm)
1 week of heat acclimation

Collaborators and Investigators

This is where you will find people and organizations involved with this study.

Sponsor

Sponsor

The organization or person who initiates the study and who has authority and control over the study.
Maastricht University Medical Center

Investigators

Investigators

A researcher involved in a clinical study. Related terms include site principal investigator, site sub-investigator, study chair, study director, and study principal investigator.
  • Principal Investigator: Guy Plasqui, Maastricht University
  • Principal Investigator: Hannah Pallubinsky, Dr., Maastricht University

Publications and helpful links

The person responsible for entering information about the study voluntarily provides these publications. These may be about anything related to the study.

General Publications

Study record dates

These dates track the progress of study record and summary results submissions to ClinicalTrials.gov. Study records and reported results are reviewed by the National Library of Medicine (NLM) to make sure they meet specific quality control standards before being posted on the public website.

Study Major Dates

Study Start (Estimated)

Study Start

The actual date on which the first participant was enrolled in a clinical study. The "anticipated" study start date is the date that the researchers think will be the study start date.
May 1, 2024

Primary Completion (Estimated)

Primary Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention to collect final data for the primary outcome measure. Whether the clinical study ended according to the protocol or was terminated does not affect this date. For clinical studies with more than one primary outcome measure with different completion dates, this term refers to the date on which data collection is completed for all the primary outcome measures. The "anticipated" primary completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the primary completion date for the study.
December 1, 2024

Study Completion (Estimated)

Study Completion

The date on which the last participant in a clinical study was examined or received an intervention/treatment to collect final data for the primary outcome measures, secondary outcome measures, and adverse events (that is, the last participant's last visit). The "anticipated" study completion date is the date that the researchers think will be the study completion date.
December 1, 2024

Study Registration Dates

First Submitted

First Submitted

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submitted a study record to ClinicalTrials.gov. There is typically a delay of a few days between the first submitted date and the record's availability on ClinicalTrials.gov (the first posted date).
March 5, 2024

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

First Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The date on which the study sponsor or investigator first submits a study record that is consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. The sponsor or investigator may need to revise and submit a study record one or more times before NLM's QC review criteria are met. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 24, 2024

First Posted (Actual)

First Posted

The date on which the study record was first available on ClinicalTrials.gov after National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review has concluded. There is typically a delay of a few days between the date the study sponsor or investigator submitted the study record and the first posted date.
April 29, 2024

Study Record Updates

Last Update Posted (Actual)

Last Update Posted

The most recent date on which changes to a study record were made available on ClinicalTrials.gov. There may be a delay between when the changes were submitted to ClinicalTrials.gov by the study's sponsor or investigator (the last update submitted date) and the last update posted date.
April 29, 2024

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

Last Update Submitted That Met QC Criteria

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator submitted changes to a study record that are consistent with National Library of Medicine (NLM) quality control (QC) review criteria. It is the responsibility of the sponsor or investigator to ensure that the study record is consistent with the NLM QC review criteria.
April 24, 2024

Last Verified

Last Verified

The most recent date on which the study sponsor or investigator confirmed the information about a clinical study on ClinicalTrials.gov as accurate and current. If a study with a recruitment status of recruiting; not yet recruiting; or active, not recruiting has not been confirmed within the past 2 years, the study's recruitment status is shown as unknown.
April 1, 2024

More Information

Terms related to this study

Keywords

Additional Relevant MeSH Terms

Other Study ID Numbers

Other Study ID Numbers

Identifiers or ID numbers other than the NCT number that are assigned to a clinical study by the study's sponsor, funders, or others. These numbers may include unique identifiers from other trial registries and National Institutes of Health grant numbers.
  • NL86367.068.24

Plan for Individual participant data (IPD)

Plan to Share Individual Participant Data (IPD)?

NO

Drug and device information, study documents

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated drug product

No

Studies a U.S. FDA-regulated device product

No

This information was retrieved directly from the website clinicaltrials.gov without any changes. If you have any requests to change, remove or update your study details, please contact register@clinicaltrials.gov. As soon as a change is implemented on clinicaltrials.gov, this will be updated automatically on our website as well.

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