Maximum apparent temperature is associated with lower birth weight in a population exposed to a constant high ambient temperature in Piura, Peru

Abstract

Objective: To evaluate the association between maximum apparent temperature
(HImax) during pregnancy with birth weight in newborns in the province of Piura,
2011-2016. Methods: Semi-ecological study in which maternal-perinatal data from
Santa Rosa Hospital (N=17,788) and apparent maximum temperature data were
evaluated. Four exposure windows were analyzed: the entire pregnancy and each
gestational trimester, which were assigned according to date of birth and gestational
age, categorized into quartiles. Linear regression models were constructed to
evaluate the association between variables. Results: A negative association was
found between birth weight and HImax in all exposure windows except in the first
trimester. The largest decrease in birth weight was observed in the P95 exposure
group in the whole pregnancy (-38.50 95%CI -71.46; -5.53) and third trimester
(-70.48 95%CI -102.69; -38.28) exposure windows, but not in the second trimester.
Conclusions: HImax during pregnancy is associated with lower birth weight, but with
different susceptibility depending on the stage of pregnancy.