Climate Matters—Association Between Ambient Temperature During Pregnancy and Birth Length in Austria Between 1984 and 2014—A Population‐Based Study
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 19459263 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Thomas Waldhoer (0000-0003-2043-8299, Medical University of Vienna), Kirchengast (0000-0002-3220-7271, University of Vienna, corresponding author), Sylvia Kirchengast (Department of Evolutionary Anthropology University of Vienna Vienna Austria), Lin Yang (0000-0002-1698-6666, University of Calgary) |
| Year | 2026 |
| Volume | 38 |
| Issue | 5 |
| Pages | e70273-e70273 |
| Publication date | 2026-05-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Human Biology (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1042-0533 • E-ISSN: 1520-6300 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1002/ajhb.70273 |
| PMID | 42162582 |
| OpenAlex | W7162022052 |
| Language | EN |
| References cited | 50 |
OBJECTIVES: The impact of ambient temperature on fetal growth was tested using a data set of 1 208 491 singleton births taking place in Austria between 1984 and 2014. It was hypothesized that higher ambient temperature during pregnancy would be associated with shorter birth length. METHODS: Daily ambient temperature data spanning 1983 to 2014 from 39 Austrian districts were retrieved and used for analysis. A Dynamic-Lag-Non-linear (DLNM) model was then fitted to link birth length with the time course of ambient temperature during each pregnancy. This model was adjusted for the following variables: maternal education level, maternal age, newborn sex, gestational age, newborn year of birth, maternal parity, and citizenship. RESULTS: The effect of temperature on birth length was observed to be negative immediately following conception up to approximately gestational week 9 and again from about gestational week 15 toward the end of pregnancy. In contrast, during gestational weeks 10 to 14, there was no apparent association between temperature and birth length. The effect of hypothetically shifting a randomly drawn newborn's original birth date forward from January to October is associated with a decrease in predicted birth length by about 0.8 mm. CONCLUSION: Higher temperatures during early pregnancy and from the 15th gestational week onwards appear to have a negative effect on the fetal growth process
Birth weight · Early pregnancy factor · Fetal growth · Fetus · Gestation · Gestational age · Pregnancy · Singleton · Climate Change and Health Impacts · Pregnancy and preeclampsia studies · Thermal Regulation in Medicine
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| Citation velocity | historical |
|---|---|
| Highly cited | No |