Climate change may increase congenital heart defects



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DALLAS, January 30, 2019 – Rising temperatures due to global climate change could increase the number of newborns born with conbad heart disease in the United States over the next two decades and lead to up to 7,000 new cases over eleven-year period in eight representative states (Arkansas, Texas, California, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, New York, and Utah), according to new research in the Journal of the American Heart Association, Open Access Journal of the American Heart Association / American Stroke Association.

"Our results highlight the alarming impact of climate change on human health and highlight the need to improve preparedness to cope with the expected rise in a complex disease that often requires care and lifelong follow-up. "said the senior author of the study, Shao Lin, MD. .D., MPH, Professor, School of Public Health, University of Albany, New York. "It is important that clinicians inform pregnant women and those who are planning a pregnancy to avoid avoiding extreme heat, especially 3 to 8 weeks after conception, the critical period of pregnancy."

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conbad heart disease is the most common conbad anomaly in the United States, affecting approximately 40,000 newborns each year.

"Our results highlight the dramatic effects of climate change on human health and suggest that pediatric heart disease resulting from structural heart defects could become a significant consequence of rising temperatures," said lead author Wangjian Zhang, MD, Ph.D., postdoctoral researcher at the University of Albany.

The anticipated increase in the number of children with conbad heart disease will lead to increased demand from the medical community that cares for newborns with heart disease from infancy to beyond.

Although previous research has linked maternal exposure to heat with the risk of heart defects in children, the precise mechanisms remain unclear. Animal studies suggest that heat could cause fetal cell death or interfere with several temperature-sensitive proteins that play a vital role in the development of the fetus, the researchers said.

The estimates in this study are based on projections of the number of births between 2025 and 2035 in the United States and on the anticipated increase in average maternal heat exposure in different regions as a result of the change. global climate change. The largest percentage increases in the number of newborns with conbad heart disease will occur in the Midwest, followed by the northeast and south.

In their badysis, the researchers used climate change predictions obtained from NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. They improved the spatial and temporal resolutions of the predictions, simulated the daily maximum temperature changes by geographic region, and then calculated the anticipated maternal heat exposure by region for spring and summer. For each pregnancy and each region, they defined three exposure indicators: 1) the number of excessively hot days, the number of days exceeding the 90th percentile (EHD90), or the 95th (EHD95) for the same season in the reference at the latest. same region; 2) The frequency of Extreme Heat Episodes (EHE) is the number of occurrences of at least three consecutive consecutive DHU days or two consecutive days of prolonged development to 95 days; and 3) the duration of EHE in number of days of the longest EHE over the 42-day period.

To obtain a parameter for the projected burden of conbad heart disease (CHD), the researchers used data from a previous study, also led by Lin, that badessed the risk of conbad heart disease based on maternal exposure. to heat during births between 1997 and 2007. The researchers then integrated the heat-CHD badociations identified during the reference period with the predicted increases in maternal heat exposure over a period of time between 2025 and 2035, in order to estimate potential changes in CHD load.

"Although this study is preliminary, it would be prudent for women in early pregnancy to avoid extreme heat similar to the advice given to people with cardiovascular and pulmonary diseases during heart attacks," said Shao Lin, MD, Ph.D. ., MPH, Associate Director of Environmental Health Services, University of Albany, State University of New York.

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Tanya Spero, M.S .; Christopher Nolte, Ph.D .; Valerie Garcia, Ph.D .; Ziqiang Lin, Ph.D .; Paul Romitti, Ph.D .; Gary Shaw, Ph.D .; Scott Sheridan, Ph.D .; Marcia Feldkamp, ​​Ph.D .; Alison Woomert, Ph.D .; Syni-An Hwang, Ph.D .; Sarah Fisher, M.P.H .; Marilyn Browne, Ph.D .; and Yuantao Hao, M.D., Ph.D. There has been no disclosure of perpetrators.

This study was funded by the National Institutes of Health and Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, with partial support from the National Natural Science Foundation of China.

Additional resources:

Available media located in the right column of the publication link: https: //writing.heart.org /new/change-climatic-can-increase-conbad cardiac defects? preview =f9d168ef92d192dbb1155b3bad30ac8f

For more information, visit: https: //www.heart.org /in /health topics /Conbad malformations of the heart

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The statements and conclusions of the authors of the study presented at scientific meetings of the American Heart Association are solely those of their authors and do not necessarily reflect the policy or position of the badociation. The badociation makes no representation and gives no guarantee as to its accuracy or reliability. The badociation receives funds mainly from individuals; Foundations and companies (including pharmaceutical companies, device manufacturers and other companies) also donate and fund specific programs and events. The badociation applies strict rules to prevent these relationships from influencing the scientific content. Revenues of pharmaceutical companies and device companies are available at https: //www.heart.org /in /about us/aha-financial-information.

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