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Impact of Indoor Overheating on Physiological Strain in Children

NCT07261202 · Status: RECRUITING · Phase: NA · Type: INTERVENTIONAL · Enrollment: 10

Last updated 2026-04-23

No results posted yet for this study

Summary

Communities worldwide are experiencing increasing heat extremes that challenge the limits of human thermoregulation, particularly among vulnerable populations such as children. Compared with adults, children are more susceptible to heat related illness due to less efficient thermoregulatory systems and difficulty recognizing early signs of heat stress. In addition, prolonged heat exposure can adversely affect their mental health, contributing to cognitive decline, heightened anxiety, and irritability. As children spend substantial time in hot environments at school and at home, and as these conditions intensify with climate change, actions to safeguard their health are essential. Yet our understanding of heat exposure effects in children remains incomplete, hindering the development of evidence based strategies to protect them.

To address this gap, the investigators aim to evaluate whether an indoor temperature limit of 26 °C (45 percent relative humidity), the upper threshold recommended to protect older adults, can effectively prevent dangerous increases in physiological strain and declines in cognitive function in children during a simulated daylong heatwave. The preliminary study will assess physiological and cognitive responses in children aged 10 to 15 years during a 6 hour exposure (approximating a typical school day) to two conditions: (1) the recommended indoor temperature upper limit (26 °C) and (2) a high heat condition representative of homes and schools without air conditioning during extreme heat events (36 °C). In both conditions, children will remain seated at rest while wearing light clothing (t shirt and shorts), with the exception of performing 15 minutes of stepping exercise (6-6.5 METS) each hour (excluding the lunch period) to reflect typical daily activity in a school setting. This experimental design will allow investigators to determine whether maintaining indoor temperatures at the recommended upper limit for older adults sufficiently mitigates physiological strain in children.

Conditions

  • Heat Stress
  • Physiological Stress
  • Cognitive Change

Interventions

OTHER

Simulated exposure to indoor overheating

Children exposed to a 6-hour simulated heat exposure

Sponsors & Collaborators

  • University of Ottawa

    lead OTHER

Principal Investigators

  • Glen P Kenny, PhD · University of Ottawa

Study Design

Allocation
RANDOMIZED
Purpose
BASIC_SCIENCE
Masking
SINGLE
Model
CROSSOVER

Eligibility

Min Age
10 Years
Max Age
15 Years
Sex
ALL
Healthy Volunteers
Yes

Timeline & Regulatory

Start
2025-11-08
Primary Completion
2026-06-01
Completion
2026-12-31

Countries

  • Canada

Study Locations

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Read the full study record

This page highlights key information. For complete eligibility criteria, study locations, investigator contacts, and the full protocol, visit the original record on ClinicalTrials.gov.

View NCT07261202 on ClinicalTrials.gov