From Polar Bears to People: The Role of Ethnic Genetic Variation in Thermoregulation and Heat-Related Health Risk

Alexandra Baumann, Jakob Thiel, Nina Haffer, Nina Haffer, Shailendra Gupta, Markus Wolfien, Markus Wolfien

2025

Abstract

As climate change increases the frequency and severity of acute heat events, it is crucial to determine factors for appropriate healthcare strategies and predictive models. Previously, it was stated that socioeconomic factors primarily play a role in heat-related illness risk. Analogous to the polar bear’s unique adaptations to the cold, humans exhibit distinct genetic traits shaped by their migration to diverse climates. This position paper hypothesizes that genetic differences among human ethnic groups, in addition to socioeconomic and other factors, also contribute to variations in thermoregulation and influence susceptibility to heat-related diseases. To understand genetic adaptations across human ethnicities (initially European and African), we propose a genetic association analysis of single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in genes associated with thermoregulation. An assessment of changes in thermoregulation gene regulation networks will be possible by conducting a functional pathway analysis. Expected outcomes include identifying differences in SNP distributions of thermoregulation-associated genes across ethnicities. Challenges such as the underrepresentation of African populations in genomic databases must also be addressed. This research aims to provide a foundational understanding of genetic contributions to heat adaptation, guiding the development of personalized, equitable healthcare responses to climate-induced heat stress.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Baumann A., Thiel J., Haffer N., Gupta S. and Wolfien M. (2025). From Polar Bears to People: The Role of Ethnic Genetic Variation in Thermoregulation and Heat-Related Health Risk. In Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIOINFORMATICS; ISBN 978-989-758-731-3, SciTePress, pages 655-660. DOI: 10.5220/0013256100003911

in Bibtex Style

@conference{bioinformatics25,
author={Alexandra Baumann and Jakob Thiel and Nina Haffer and Shailendra Gupta and Markus Wolfien},
title={From Polar Bears to People: The Role of Ethnic Genetic Variation in Thermoregulation and Heat-Related Health Risk},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIOINFORMATICS},
year={2025},
pages={655-660},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0013256100003911},
isbn={978-989-758-731-3},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 18th International Joint Conference on Biomedical Engineering Systems and Technologies - Volume 1: BIOINFORMATICS
TI - From Polar Bears to People: The Role of Ethnic Genetic Variation in Thermoregulation and Heat-Related Health Risk
SN - 978-989-758-731-3
AU - Baumann A.
AU - Thiel J.
AU - Haffer N.
AU - Gupta S.
AU - Wolfien M.
PY - 2025
SP - 655
EP - 660
DO - 10.5220/0013256100003911
PB - SciTePress