Climate Change and Congenital Anomalies: A Population-Based Study of the Effect of Prolonged Extreme Heat Exposure on the Risk of Neural Tube Defects in France

Bruckner, Tim A., Trinh,Nhung T. H., Lelong, Nathalie, Madani, Kaveh, Slama, Rémy, Given, Joanne and Khoshnood, Babak, (2024). Climate Change and Congenital Anomalies: A Population-Based Study of the Effect of Prolonged Extreme Heat Exposure on the Risk of Neural Tube Defects in France. Birth defects research, 116(9), e2397-n/a

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  • Sub-type Journal article
    Author Bruckner, Tim A.
    Trinh,Nhung T. H.
    Lelong, Nathalie
    Madani, Kaveh
    Slama, Rémy
    Given, Joanne
    Khoshnood, Babak
    Title Climate Change and Congenital Anomalies: A Population-Based Study of the Effect of Prolonged Extreme Heat Exposure on the Risk of Neural Tube Defects in France
    Appearing in Birth defects research
    Volume 116
    Issue No. 9
    Publication Date 2024-08-30
    Place of Publication Hoboken, NJ
    Publisher Wiley Periodicals LLC
    Start page e2397
    End page n/a
    Language eng
    Abstract Background Exposure to long-lasting extreme ambient temperatures in the periconceptional or early pregnancy period might increase the risk of neural tube defects (NTDs). We tested whether prolonged severe heat exposure as experienced during the 2003 extreme heatwave in France, affected the risk of NTDs. Methods We retrieved NTD cases spanning from January 1994 to December 2018 from the Paris Registry of Congenital Malformations. The 2003 heatwave was characterized by the long duration and high intensity of nine consecutive days with temperatures ≥35°C. We classified monthly conceptions occurring in August 2003 as “exposed” to prolonged extreme heat around conception (i.e., periconceptional period). We assessed whether the risk of NTDs among cohorts exposed to the prolonged severe heatwave of 2003 in the periconceptional period differed from expected values using Poisson/negative binomial regression. Findings We identified 1272 NTD cases from January 1994 to December 2018, yielding a monthly mean count of 4.24. Ten NTD cases occurred among births conceived in August 2003. The risk of NTD was increased in the cohort with periconceptional exposure to the August 2003 heatwave (relative risk = 2.14, 95% confidence interval: 1.46 to 3.13), compared to non-exposed cohorts. Sensitivity analyses excluding July and September months or restricting to summer months yielded consistent findings. Interpretation Evidence from the “natural experiment” of an extreme climate event suggests an elevated risk of NTDs following exposure to prolonged extreme heat during the periconceptional period.
    Keyword Birth defects
    Heatwave
    Neural tube defects
    Paris Registry of Congenital Malformations
    Prolonged heat
    Copyright Holder author(s)
    Copyright Year 2024
    Copyright type Creative commons
    DOI https://doi.org/10.1002/bdr2.2397
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    Created: Sat, 19 Oct 2024, 03:54:53 JST by Haideh Beigi on behalf of UNU INWEH