Home-based Heat Therapy for Type 2 Diabetes

Insulin resistance and hyperglycemia predispose individuals with type 2 diabetes mellitus (T2DM) to endothelial dysfunction and a greater risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD). Increased CVD risk in individuals with T2DM persists despite optimal pharmacological therapy, highlighting the need to identify complementary lifestyle interventions that improve cardiometabolic functions in this population. Evidence from animal models suggests that heat exposure improves metabolic functions. Notably, weekly heat exposure for 16 weeks blunts hyperinsulinemia and hyperglycemia induced by a high fat diet in mice. In parallel, studies in humans have shown that heat exposure improves vascular endothelial function. Based on such findings, it has been suggested that heat therapy may represent an effective lifestyle intervention to improve cardiometabolic functions. However, only 1 study has examined the impact of a heat therapy intervention on individuals with T2DM, demonstrating that 6 weeks of heat exposure reduces fasting plasma glucose and hemoglobin A1C. No study has considered potential vascular benefits of heat therapy in individuals with T2DM.

This project will investigate cardiometabolic responses to repeated heat exposure in men and women with T2DM. We will test the hypothesis that 12 weeks of heat therapy improves postprandial fatty acid handling, insulin sensitivity and endothelial function in individuals with T2DM.