ArticleEnvironmental health perspectives2011
Climate extremes and the length of gestation.
Article in Environmental health perspectives, 2011. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 55 papers, 5 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
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Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
55 citing papers in PubMed, 5 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on heat thresholds for maternal health and birth outcomes.Nature communications · 2026Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health.Nature medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Climate Change-Related Environmental Exposures and Perinatal and Maternal Health Outcomes in the U.S.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Pooled it
- Heat Exposure and Maternal Health in the Face of Climate Change.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2017Pooled it
- Associations of meteorology with adverse pregnancy outcomes: a systematic review of preeclampsia, preterm birth and birth weight.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2013Pooled it
- Comparing the health implications of heat exposure in pregnant women in rural and urban Tamil Nadu: An exploratory cohort study.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2026Observational
- Biological impacts of rising temperatures on maternal, fetal and newborn health: protocol for a cohort study (BIRTH-Cohort).BMJ open · 2026Article
- Associations of climatic factors with pregnancy loss in Nicosia, Cyprus.Journal of exposure science & environmental epidemiology · 2025Article
- In utero exposure to extreme heat increases neonatal mortality.PNAS nexus · 2025Article
- The relationship between prenatal heat exposure and birth outcomes: How much does the heat metric matter?PloS one · 2025Article
- Article
- Climate change, evolution, and reproductive health: The impact of water insecurity and heat stress on pregnancy and lactation.Evolution, medicine, and public health · 2025Review
- Effect of climate change on the health and nutritional status of children and their families in Africa: Scoping review.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Study protocol for an observational cohort study of heat stress impacts in pregnancy in The Gambia, West Africa.Wellcome open research · 2024Article
- Extreme Temperature Exposure and Risks of Preterm Birth Subtypes Based on a Nationwide Survey in China.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- Exploration of the preterm birth risk-related heat event thresholds for pregnant women: a population-based cohort study in China.The Lancet regional health. Western Pacific · 2023Article
- Increased late preterm birth risk and altered uterine blood flow upon exposure to heat stress.EBioMedicine · 2023Article
- Environmental factors affecting pregnancy outcomes.Endocrine · 2023Review
- The role of extreme heat exposure on premature rupture of membranes in Southern California: A study from a large pregnancy cohort.Environment international · 2023Article
- The risk of miscarriage is associated with ambient temperature: evidence from coastal Bangladesh.Frontiers in public health · 2023Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundAlthough future climate is predicted to have more extreme heat conditions, the available evidence on the impact of these conditions on pregnancy length is very scarce and inconclusive.
objectivesWe investigated the impact of maternal short-term exposure to extreme ambient heat on the length of pregnancy.
methodsThis study was based on a cohort of births that occurred in a major university hospital in Barcelona during 2001-2005. Three indicators of extreme heat conditions based on 1-day exposure to an unusually high heat-humidity index were applied. Each mother was assigned the measures made by the meteorological station closest to maternal residential postcodes. A two-stage analysis was developed to quantify the change in pregnancy length after maternal exposure to extreme heat conditions adjusted for a range of covariates. The second step was repeated for lags 0 (delivery date) to 6 days.
resultsWe included data from 7,585 pregnant women in our analysis. We estimated a 5-day reduction in average gestational age at delivery after an unusually high heat-humidity index on the day before delivery.
conclusionExtreme heat was associated with a reduction in the average gestational age of children delivered the next day, suggesting an immediate effect of this exposure on pregnant women. Further studies are required to confirm our findings in different settings.
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