Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review

• Published in: International journal of environmental research and public health 2022-02, Vol.19 (3), p.1771
• Main Authors: Dalugoda, Yohani, Kuppa, Jyothi, Phung, Hai, Rutherford, Shannon, Phung, Dung
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Ambient temperature; Birth weight; Births; Body temperature; Climate Change; Congenital anomalies; Congenital defects; Diabetes; Diabetes mellitus; Exposure; Female; Heat; Heat shock proteins; High temperature; Hot Temperature; Humans; Hypertension; Infant mortality; Infant, Low Birth Weight; Infant, Newborn; Low birth weight; Morbidity; Mortality; Neonates; Newborn babies; Population; Preeclampsia; Pregnancy; Pregnancy Outcome - epidemiology; Review; Reviews; Stillbirth; Stillbirth - epidemiology; Temperature; Trends; Womens health
• ISSN: 1660-4601; 1661-7827; 1660-4601
• DOI: 10.3390/ijerph19031771

This scoping review provides an overview of the published literature, identifies research gaps, and summarises the current evidence of the association between elevated ambient temperature exposure during pregnancy and adverse maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes. Following the PRISMA extension for scoping reviews reporting guidelines, a systematic search was conducted on CINAHL, PubMed, and Embase and included original articles published in the English language from 2015 to 2020 with no geographical limitations. A total of seventy-five studies were included, conducted across twenty-four countries, with a majority in the USA ( = 23) and China ( = 13). Study designs, temperature metrics, and exposure windows varied considerably across studies. Of the eighteen heat-associated adverse maternal, foetal, and neonatal outcomes identified, pre-term birth was the most common outcome ( = 30), followed by low birth weight ( = 11), stillbirth ( = 9), and gestational diabetes mellitus ( = 8). Overall, papers reported an increased risk with elevated temperature exposures. Less attention has been paid to relationships between heat and the diverse range of other adverse outcomes such as congenital anomalies and neonatal mortality. Further research on these less-reported outcomes is needed to improve understanding and the effect size of these relationships with elevated temperatures, which we know will be exacerbated by climate change.