Deadly side-effect of heat stress is threat to rising numbers of workers in hot climates, doctors warn

• ‘You shouldn’t work if your kidneys are failing – but people can’t afford not to’
• Read more in the Harmed by heat series

Chronic kidney disease linked to heat stress could become a major health epidemic for millions of workers around the world as global temperatures increase over the coming decades, doctors have warned.

More research into the links between heat and CKDu – chronic kidney disease of uncertain cause – is urgently needed to assess the potential scale of the problem, they have said.