ArticleInternational journal of biometeorology2019
The impact of heat exposure on reduced gestational age in pregnant women in North Carolina, 2011-2015.
Article in International journal of biometeorology, 2019. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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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.
The trial behind it
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
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 23 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis on heat thresholds for maternal health and birth outcomes.Nature communications · 2026Pooled it
- Associations between high temperatures in pregnancy and risk of preterm birth, low birth weight, and stillbirths: systematic review and meta-analysis.BMJ (Clinical research ed.) · 2020Pooled it
- Article
- Does humidity matter? Prenatal heat and child health in South Asia.Science advances · 2025Article
- Mental health disparities among maternal populations following heatwave exposure in North Carolina (2011-2019): a matched analysis.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2025Article
- A scoping review on heat indices used to measure the effects of heat on maternal and perinatal health.BMJ public health · 2024Article
- Extreme Temperature Exposure and Risks of Preterm Birth Subtypes Based on a Nationwide Survey in China.Environmental health perspectives · 2023Article
- Adverse effects of temperature on perinatal and pregnancy outcomes: methodological challenges and knowledge gaps.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Exposure to heat during pregnancy and preterm birth in North Carolina: Main effect and disparities by residential greenness, urbanicity, and socioeconomic status.Environmental research · 2022Article
- Extreme Heat and Pregnancy Outcomes: A Scoping Review of the Epidemiological Evidence.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Effect of Elevated Ambient Temperature on Maternal, Foetal, and Neonatal Outcomes: A Scoping Review.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2022Article
- Assessing the effects of disasters and their aftermath on pregnancy and infant outcomes: A conceptual model.International journal of disaster risk reduction : IJDRR · 2021Article
- Acute associations between heatwaves and preterm and early-term birth in 50 US metropolitan areas: a matched case-control study.Environmental health : a global access science source · 2021Article
- Preconception ambient temperature and preterm birth: a time-series study in rural Henan, China.Environmental science and pollution research international · 2021Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Research on the impact of heat on pregnant women has focused largely on outcomes following extreme temperature events, such as particular heat waves or spells of very cold weather on pregnant women. Consistently, the literature has shown a statistically significant relationship between heat with shortened gestational age with studies concentrated largely in the western states of the USA or other nations. The association between heat and shortened gestational age has not been examined in the Southeastern US where maternal outcomes are some of the most challenging in the nation. Unlike previous studies that focus on the impacts of a single heat wave event, this study seeks to understand the impact of high heat over a 5-year period during the annual warm season (May-September). To achieve this goal, a case-crossover study design is employed to understand the impact of heat on preterm labor across regions in North Carolina (NC). Temperature thresholds for impact and the underlying relationships between preterm labor and heat are investigated using generalized additive models (GAM). Gridded temperature data (PRISM) is used to establish exposure classifications. The results reveal significant impacts to pregnant women exposed to heat with regional variations. The exposure variable with the most stable and significant result was minimum temperature, indicating high overnight temperatures have the most impact on preterm birth. The magnitude of this impact varies across regions from a 1% increase in risk to 6% increase in risk per two-degree increment above established minimum temperature thresholds.
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Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.