ArticleEnvironmental research2024
Associations between exposure to extreme ambient heat and neural tube defects in Georgia, USA: A population-based case-control study.
Article in Environmental research, 2024. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 7 papers, 1 of them a synthesis 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.
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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
7 citing papers in PubMed, 1 synthesis or guideline pooled it.
- Pooled it
- Weather Information Seeking and Heat-Health Protective Actions During Pregnancy: An Exploratory Study.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2026Article
- High ambient temperature during pregnancy and offspring cerebral palsy: A population-based case-control study in California.Environmental research · 2026Article
- Investigating ovarian effects of perfluorooctanoic acid in postpubertal pigs during thermal neutral and heat stress conditions.Journal of animal science · 2026Article
- Heat and chemical stressors: Independent and interactive impacts on the pig ovary.The Journal of reproduction and development · 2026Review
- Heat exposure in pregnancy: a silent risk for neural tube defects in Pakistan.Annals of medicine and surgery (2012) · 2025Article
- The relationship between prenatal heat exposure and birth outcomes: How much does the heat metric matter?PloS one · 2025Article
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
7 authors.
Funding
Abstract
introductionThe association between extreme ambient heat exposures during pregnancy and neural tube defects (NTDs) in offspring remains unclear. This study sought to estimate the association between exposure to extreme ambient heat during periconception and NTDs.
methodsThis population-based case-control study in Georgia, USA (1994-2017) included 825 isolated NTD cases (473 anencephaly, 352 spina bifida) and 3,300 controls matched 1:4 on county of residence and time period of delivery. Daily ambient temperature data were linked to fetal death and birth records by county of residence. Extreme ambient heat exposure was defined as the number of consecutive days the daily apparent temperature exceeded the county-specific 95th percentile (derived over 1980-2010) during an eight-week periconception period. We calculated adjusted odds ratios (aORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CI) using conditional logistic regression models adjusted for maternal age, education, and ethnicity and month and year of last menstrual period.
resultsThe aORs for NTDs were 1.09 (95% CI 1.01, 1.17), 1.18 (95% CI 1.03, 1.36), and 1.29 (95% CI 1.04, 1.58) for exposure to 1-2, 3-5, and 6 or more consecutive days with apparent ambient temperatures exceeding the county-specific 95th percentile during periconception, respectively, compared to no days of extreme ambient heat exposure. Weekly analysis of extreme heat exposure indicated consistently elevated odds of offspring NTDs during periconception. These results were largely driven by spina bifida cases.
conclusionsOur results highlight potential health threats posed by increasing global average temperatures for pregnant people with implications for increased risk of neural tube defects in their offspring.
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