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Maternal exposure to heatwave and preterm birth in B risbane, A ustralia
Author(s) -
Wang J,
Williams G,
Guo Y,
Pan X,
Tong S
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
bjog: an international journal of obstetrics and gynaecology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.157
H-Index - 164
eISSN - 1471-0528
pISSN - 1470-0328
DOI - 10.1111/1471-0528.12397
Subject(s) - hazard ratio , medicine , proportional hazards model , pregnancy , population , air pollutants , singleton , demography , environmental health , air pollution , confidence interval , biology , ecology , genetics , sociology
Objective To quantify the short‐term effects of maternal exposure to heatwave on preterm birth. Design An ecological study. Setting A population‐based study in B risbane, A ustralia. Population All pregnant women who had a spontaneous singleton live birth in B risbane between N ovember and M arch in 2000–2010 were studied. Methods Daily data on pregnancy outcomes, meteorological factors, and ambient air pollutants were obtained. The C ox proportional hazards regression model with time‐dependent variables was used to examine the short‐term impact of heatwave on preterm birth. A series of cut‐off temperatures and durations were used to define heatwave. Multivariable analyses were also performed to adjust for socio‐economic factors, demographic factors, meteorological factors, and ambient air pollutants. Main outcome measure Spontaneous preterm births. Results The adjusted hazard ratios ( HR s) ranged from 1.13 (95% CI 1.03–1.24) to 2.00 (95% CI 1.37–2.91) by using different heatwave definitions, after controlling for demographic, socio‐economic, and meteorological factors, and air pollutants. Conclusions Heatwave was significantly associated with preterm birth: the associations were robust to the definitions of heatwave. The threshold temperatures, instead of duration, could be more likely to influence the evaluation of birth‐related heatwaves. The findings of this study may have significant public health implications as climate change progresses.