SynthesisInternational journal of environmental research and public health2021
Impacts of High Environmental Temperatures on Congenital Anomalies: A Systematic Review.
Synthesis in International journal of environmental research and public health, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 32 papers, 3 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
32 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it.
- Strategic environmental assessment-exploring connections between environmental and health issues.Environmental management · 2025Pooled it
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health.Nature medicine · 2025Pooled it
- Impacts of heat exposure in utero on long-term health and social outcomes: a systematic review.BMC pregnancy and childbirth · 2024Pooled it
- The association between women's climate change anxiety, awareness of maternal-fetal health impacts, and their desire to avoid pregnancy.BMC public health · 2026Article
- Heat, health and inequalities in the WHO European region - a scoping review with an intersectional lens.International journal for equity in health · 2026Article
- Congenital anomaly registers in Australia: A national challenge.Health information management : journal of the Health Information Management Association of Australia · 2026Article
- Differential Effects of Green Space Typologies on Congenital Anomalies: Data from the Korean National Health Insurance Service (2008-2013).Healthcare (Basel, Switzerland) · 2025Article
- How is maternal, newborn, and child health addressed in Heat Health Action Plans? A scoping review and content analysis.Journal of global health · 2025Article
- Exposure to low concentrations of PMBMC public health · 2025Article
- The Influence of Heat on Pediatric and Perinatal Health: Risks, Evidence, and Future Directions.Journal of clinical medicine · 2025Review
- Scoping review of climate drivers on maternal health: current evidence and clinical implications.AJOG global reports · 2025Review
- Study protocol for the Bio-HEAT study: Investigating the Biological pathways from HEAT exposure to preterm birth and other adverse maternal and child health outcomes in South Africa.Wellcome open research · 2025Article
- Associations between exposure to extreme ambient heat and neural tube defects in Georgia, USA: A population-based case-control study.Environmental research · 2024Article
- Temporal trends in the prevalence of major birth defects in China: a nationwide population-based study from 2007 to 2021.World journal of pediatrics : WJP · 2024Article
- Risk perceptions of Italian paediatricians for the impact of climate change on children's health.Italian journal of pediatrics · 2024Article
- Climate change, air pollution and maternal and newborn health: An overview of reviews of health outcomes.Journal of global health · 2024Review
- Environmental Exposures and Pediatric Cardiology: A Scientific Statement From the American Heart Association.Circulation · 2024Review
- Indoor Temperature and Energy Insecurity: Implications for Prenatal Health Disparities in Extreme Heat Events.Environmental health perspectives · 2024Article
- Impact of Climate Change, Environmental Toxins and Pollution on the AOFOG region: What can OBGYNs do?Journal of obstetrics and gynaecology of India · 2024Review
- Associations between PMFrontiers in public health · 2024Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
13 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
Links between heat exposure and congenital anomalies have not been explored in detail despite animal data and other strands of evidence that indicate such links are likely. We reviewed articles on heat and congenital anomalies from PubMed and Web of Science, screening 14,880 titles and abstracts in duplicate for articles on environmental heat exposure during pregnancy and congenital anomalies. Thirteen studies were included. Most studies were in North America (8) or the Middle East (3). Methodological diversity was considerable, including in temperature measurement, gestational windows of exposure, and range of defects studied. Associations were detected between heat exposure and congenital cardiac anomalies in three of six studies, with point estimates highest for atrial septal defects. Two studies with null findings used self-reported temperature exposures. Hypospadias, congenital cataracts, renal agenesis/hypoplasia, spina bifida, and craniofacial defects were also linked with heat exposure. Effects generally increased with duration and intensity of heat exposure. However, some neural tube defects, gastroschisis, anopthalmia/microphthalmia and congenital hypothyroidism were less frequent at higher temperatures. While findings are heterogenous, the evidence raises important concerns about heat exposure and birth defects. Some heterogeneity may be explained by biases in reproductive epidemiology. Pooled analyses of heat impacts using registers of congenital anomalies are a high priority.
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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.