Darshnika P. Lakhoo, Nicholas Brink, Lebohang Radebe, Marlies H. Craig, Minh Duc Pham, Marjan M. Haghighi, Amy Wise, Ijeoma Solarin, Stanley Luchters, Gloria Maimela, Matthew F. Chersich
{"title":"A systematic review and meta-analysis of heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health","authors":"Darshnika P. Lakhoo, Nicholas Brink, Lebohang Radebe, Marlies H. Craig, Minh Duc Pham, Marjan M. Haghighi, Amy Wise, Ijeoma Solarin, Stanley Luchters, Gloria Maimela, Matthew F. Chersich","doi":"10.1038/s41591-024-03395-8","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<p>Climate Change has severe and wide-ranging health impacts, especially for vulnerable groups. Despite growing evidence of heat-associated adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes, there remains a lack of synthesis quantifying associations and identifying specific risk periods. We systematically reviewed the literature on heat impacts on maternal, fetal, and neonatal health, and quantified impacts through meta-analyses. We found 198 studies across66 countries, predominantly high income (63.3%) and temperature climate zones (40.1%), and 23 outcomes. Results showed increased odds of preterm birth of 1.04 (95%CI = 1.03, 1.06; n = 12) per 1°C increase in heat exposure and 1.26 (95%CI = 1.08, 1.47; n = 10) during heatwaves. Similarly high heat exposure increased the risk for stillbirths (OR = 1.13 (95%CI=0.95, 1.34; n = 9)), congenital anomalies (OR=1.48 (95%CI = 1.16, 1.88; n = 6)), and gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.28 (95%CI = 1.05, 1.74; n = 4)). The odds of any obstetric complication increased by 1.25 (95%CI = 1.09, 1.42; n = 11) during heatwaves. Patterns in susceptibility windows varied by condition. The findings were limited by heterogeneity in exposure metrics and study designs. The systematic review demonstrated that escalating heat exposure poses a major threat to maternal and neonatal health, highlighting research priorities, guiding the selection and monitoring of heat-health indicators, and emphasising the need to prioritise maternal and neonatal health in national climate-health programmes.</p>","PeriodicalId":19037,"journal":{"name":"Nature Medicine","volume":"153 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":58.7000,"publicationDate":"2024-11-05","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Nature Medicine","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://doi.org/10.1038/s41591-024-03395-8","RegionNum":1,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY","Score":null,"Total":0}
引用次数: 0
Abstract
Climate Change has severe and wide-ranging health impacts, especially for vulnerable groups. Despite growing evidence of heat-associated adverse maternal and neonatal health outcomes, there remains a lack of synthesis quantifying associations and identifying specific risk periods. We systematically reviewed the literature on heat impacts on maternal, fetal, and neonatal health, and quantified impacts through meta-analyses. We found 198 studies across66 countries, predominantly high income (63.3%) and temperature climate zones (40.1%), and 23 outcomes. Results showed increased odds of preterm birth of 1.04 (95%CI = 1.03, 1.06; n = 12) per 1°C increase in heat exposure and 1.26 (95%CI = 1.08, 1.47; n = 10) during heatwaves. Similarly high heat exposure increased the risk for stillbirths (OR = 1.13 (95%CI=0.95, 1.34; n = 9)), congenital anomalies (OR=1.48 (95%CI = 1.16, 1.88; n = 6)), and gestational diabetes mellitus (OR = 1.28 (95%CI = 1.05, 1.74; n = 4)). The odds of any obstetric complication increased by 1.25 (95%CI = 1.09, 1.42; n = 11) during heatwaves. Patterns in susceptibility windows varied by condition. The findings were limited by heterogeneity in exposure metrics and study designs. The systematic review demonstrated that escalating heat exposure poses a major threat to maternal and neonatal health, highlighting research priorities, guiding the selection and monitoring of heat-health indicators, and emphasising the need to prioritise maternal and neonatal health in national climate-health programmes.
期刊介绍:
Nature Medicine is a monthly journal publishing original peer-reviewed research in all areas of medicine. The publication focuses on originality, timeliness, interdisciplinary interest, and the impact on improving human health. In addition to research articles, Nature Medicine also publishes commissioned content such as News, Reviews, and Perspectives. This content aims to provide context for the latest advances in translational and clinical research, reaching a wide audience of M.D. and Ph.D. readers. All editorial decisions for the journal are made by a team of full-time professional editors.
Nature Medicine consider all types of clinical research, including:
-Case-reports and small case series
-Clinical trials, whether phase 1, 2, 3 or 4
-Observational studies
-Meta-analyses
-Biomarker studies
-Public and global health studies
Nature Medicine is also committed to facilitating communication between translational and clinical researchers. As such, we consider “hybrid” studies with preclinical and translational findings reported alongside data from clinical studies.