Climate change can lead to congenital heart defects in babies

Climate change is affecting the health of newborns?

Global climate change has far-reaching consequences for our planet, for example, it increases storms that occur, melts the polar ice caps and raises the water temperature of the oceans, leading to the death of coral reefs. Physicians now said that climate change may seem to affect the health of baby's heart as well.

Researchers at the University at Albany found in their current research that global climate change appears to be linked to an increased number of heart defects in babies. The experts published the results of their study in the Journal of the American Heart Association (JAHA).

Many factors can affect the health of the unborn child during pregnancy. For example, extreme heat can increase the likelihood of heart failure. (Photo: Subbotina Anna / fotolia.com)

Why does extreme heat trigger congenital heart defects?

It is still unclear why heat exposure in pregnant women can lead to a congenital heart defect in their babies. Animal studies, however, suggest that heat in fetuses causes cell death and may interact with heat-sensitive proteins that play an important role in development.

More heart defects in newborns in the US

The current study suggests that in the future, the extreme heat caused by climate change could increase the number of heart failure babies in the United States. Congenital heart defects or heart abnormalities that infants are born affect approximately 40,000 newborns each year in the United States, according to a statement by the American Heart Association. A previous study by the same group of scientists has already shown that exposure to high temperatures in women during pregnancy may be associated with an increased risk of congenital heart defects in babies. This study included women who gave birth to a baby between the year 1997 and the year 2007.

What are the statements of the experts based on?

In the new study now conducted, the researchers combined this data with climate change temperature predictions. The team builds statements on climate change projections collected by NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies. They simulated changes in the maximum daily maximum temperatures for different geographic regions in the US and then calculated how much heat and extreme heat events pregnant women will experience in spring and summer.

Women should avoid extreme heat during pregnancy

The experts calculated that heat events caused by climate change between 2025 and 2035 could cause an additional 7,000 cases of congenital heart disease. Although this is only an estimate so far, it is generally advisable for women in the first few weeks of pregnancy to avoid extreme heat. Such extreme heat can also lead to heart attacks in people with cardiovascular and lung diseases, study author Dr. Shao Lin from the University at Albany. (As)