Climate change could lead to more cardiac malformations in infants: study

WEDNESDAY, Jan. 30, 2019 (HealthDay News) – Climate change could lead to more American babies born with conbad heart defects, researchers say.

Specifically, they concluded that warmer temperatures could result in up to 7,000 new cases between 2025 and 2035 in eight representative states: Arkansas, Texas, California, Iowa, North Carolina, Georgia, New York, and Utah.

The January 30 study in the Midwest, Northeast, and South is expected to experience the largest percentage increases. Journal of the American Heart 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 Dr. Shao Lin, lead author of the study. Press release. Lin is Professor of Public Health at the University of Albany in New York.

According to her, it is important that clinicians advise pregnant or near-pregnant women of the importance of avoiding extreme heat – especially three to eight weeks after conception, a critical period for the fetal development.

While previous research has established a link between heat exposure in pregnant women and cardiac abnormalities in their newborns, the causes remain poorly understood. Studies in animals suggest that heat exposure could lead to death of fetal cells or interfere with certain heat-sensitive proteins essential for fetal development, the study authors said.

For this new study, researchers used the NASA and Goddard Institute for Space Studies climate change predictions, as well as data on the effects of heat exposure during pregnancy on the risk of conbad heart defects at home. babies born between 1997 and 2007.

According to the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, conbad heart problems are the most common conbad anomaly in the United States. They affect about 40,000 newborns each year.

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

More information

The US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute has more information on conbad heart defects.