Short-term association between outdoor temperature and the hydration-marker copeptin: a pooled analysis in five cohorts

Abstract

Whereas outdoor temperature is linked to both mortality and hydration status, the hormone vasopressin, measured through the surrogate copeptin, is a marker of cardiometabolic risk and hydration. We recently showed that copeptin has a seasonal pattern with higher plasma concentration in winter. Here, we aimed to investigate the association between outdoor temperature and copeptin. Copeptin was analysed in fasting plasma from five cohorts in Malmö, Sweden (n=26,753, 49.7% men, age 18-86 years). We utilized a multivariable adjusted non-linear spline model with four knots to investigate the association between short-term temperature (24h mean apparent) and log copeptin z-score. We found a distinct non-linear association between temperature and log copeptin z-score, with both moderately low and high temperatures linked to higher copeptin concentration (p<0.0001). Between 0°C and nadir at the 75th temperature percentile (corresponding to 14.3°C), log copeptin decreased 0.13 z-scores (95% CI 0.096; 0.16), which also inversely corresponded to the increase in z-score log copeptin between the nadir and 21.3°C. The J-shaped association between short-term temperature and copeptin resembles the J-shaped association between temperature and mortality. Whereas the untangling of temperature from other seasonal effects on hydration warrants further study, moderately increased water intake constitutes a feasible intervention to lower vasopressin and might mitigate adverse health effects of both moderately cold and hot outdoor temperatures. Swedish Research Council, Å Wiberg, M Stephen, A Påhlsson, Crafoord and Swedish Heart-Lung Foundations, Swedish Society for Medical Research and Swedish Society of Medicine.