ArticleEnvironment international2022
Ambient temperature and term birthweight in Latin American cities.
Article in Environment international, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 1 of them a synthesis that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it, 26 citations in OpenAlex.
- A systematic review and meta-analysis of heat exposure impacts on maternal, fetal and neonatal health.Nature medicine · 2025Pooled it
- The Impact of Ambient Heat on Perinatal and Neonatal Health in the Context of Climate Change: A Scoping Review.Current environmental health reports · 2026Article
- Association between ambient temperature exposure and pregnancy outcomes in participants undergoing IVF: a retrospective cohort study.Journal of assisted reproduction and genetics · 2026Article
- The "Agriculture and Diet: Value Added for Nutrition, Translation, and Adaptation in a Global Ecology" (ADVANTAGE) Project: An Overview of an Integrated Approach to Address a Complex Challenge.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2026Review
- From the Atacama to Patagonia: Understanding the Effects of Extreme Temperatures on Birth Weight Across Climate Regions in Chile.GeoHealth · 2025Article
- Short-term ambient heat exposure and low APGAR score in newborns: A time-stratified case-crossover analysis in São Paulo state, Brazil (2013-2019).PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Gender differences in Leptospira exposure risk, perceptions of disease severity, and high-risk behaviours in Salvador, Brazil: A cross-sectional study.PLOS global public health · 2025Article
- Urban Environments, Health, and Environmental Sustainability: Findings From the SALURBAL Study.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2024Review
- Gender differences in the perception of leptospirosis severity, behaviours, andmedRxiv : the preprint server for health sciences · 2024Article
- Ambient climatic factors and term birthweight: A study of critical windows of exposure in the Republic of Cyprus.Environmental research · 2023Article
- Economic impacts associated with the health effects of climate change in South America: a scoping review.Lancet regional health. Americas · 2023Article
- Exploring the intersection of climate/environmental change, food systems, nutrition, and health: global challenge, opportunity, or both?The American journal of clinical nutrition · 2023Article
- Adverse effects of temperature on perinatal and pregnancy outcomes: methodological challenges and knowledge gaps.Frontiers in public health · 2023Review
- Impact of extreme ambient temperatures on low birth weight: Insights from empirical findings in Pakistan.Women's health (London, England)Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
8 authors at 3 institutions in 2 countries.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundExtreme temperatures may lead to adverse pregnancy and birth outcomes, including low birthweight. Studies on the impact of temperature on birthweight have been inconclusive due to methodological challenges related to operationalizing temperature exposure, the definitions of exposure windows, accounting for gestational age, and a limited geographic scope.
methodsWe combined data on individual-level term live births (N≈15 million births) from urban areas in Brazil, Chile, and Mexico from 2010 to 2015 from the SALURBAL study (Urban Health in Latin America) with high-resolution daily air temperature data and computed average ambient temperature for every month of gestation for each newborn. Associations between full-term birthweight and average temperature during gestation were analyzed using multi-level distributed lag non-linear models that adjusted for newborn's sex, season of conception, and calendar year of child's birth; controlled for maternal age, education, partnership status, presence of previous births, and climate zone; and included a random term for the sub-city of mother's residence.
findingsHigher temperatures during the entire gestation are associated with lower birthweight, particularly in Mexico and Brazil. The cumulative effect of temperature on birthweight is mostly driven by exposure to higher temperatures during months 7-9 of gestation. Higher maternal education can attenuate the temperature-birthweight associations.
interpretationOur work shows that climate-health impacts are likely to be context- and place-specific and warrants research on temperature and birthweight in diverse climates to adequately anticipate global climate change. Given the high societal cost of suboptimal birthweight, public health efforts should be aimed at diminishing the detrimental effect of higher temperatures on birthweight.
fundingThe Wellcome Trust.
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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.