More than just causing discomfort, regional heatwaves have been associated with a number of health risks, particularly for children and the elderly.
More than just causing discomfort, regional heatwaves have been associated with a number of health risks, particularly for children and the elderly.
A new study by researchers at University of California San Diego identified another important at-risk group: people who are pregnant and their unborn infants. The study, published February 11, 2020 in Environment International, found that exposure to heatwaves during the week before birth was strongly linked to an increased risk of preterm delivery — the hotter the temperature or the longer the heatwave, the greater the risk. In particular, longer duration heatwaves were associated with the highest risk of a preterm birth.
“We looked at acute exposure to extreme heat during the week before birth, to see if it triggered an earlier delivery,” said first author Sindana Ilango, a PhD student in the Joint Doctoral Program in Public Health at UC San Diego and San Diego State University. “We found a consistent pattern: exposure to extreme heat does increase risk. And, importantly, we found that this was true for several definitions of ‘heatwave.’”
“We knew from previous studies that exposure to extreme heat during the last week of pregnancy can accelerate labor,” said senior author Tarik Benmarhnia, PhD, assistant professor of epidemiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine and Scripps Institution of Oceanography. “But no one had tried to figure out exactly what kinds of conditions could trigger preterm births. Is it the temperature? Is it the combination of the temperature and the humidity? Is it the duration of the heatwave? It’s important to ask these questions to know when we need to intervene and inform pregnant people to stay inside and stay cool.”
Read more at University of California - San Diego
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