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Heat Exposure and Birth Weight

Veröffentlicht/Copyright: 24. Dezember 2024

Abstract

In light of the anticipated rise in global temperatures, our study underscores the implications of climate change, particularly global warming, on early human health. Employing a regression framework and analyzing data from 50 developing countries, our investigation, featuring between-sibling comparisons, reveals a 0.333-g or 0.011 % reduction in a child’s weight at birth with each additional day where the maximum temperature exceeds 35 degrees Celsius during the prenatal period. Notably, the adverse effects are pronounced in the second trimester, with each extra day of temperatures surpassing 35 degrees Celsius associated with a 0.433-g or 0.014 % reduction in birth weight. Advocating for global initiatives, we stress the urgency of policy interventions to safeguard pregnant women and addressing the potential long-term impact of climate change on human development.


Corresponding author: Kien Le, University of Economics and Law, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam; and Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, E-mail:

Funding source: This research is funded by University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City / VNU-HCM

  1. Research funding: This research is funded by University of Economics and Law, Vietnam National University Ho Chi Minh City / VNU-HCM.

  2. Declarations of interest: None.

  3. Availability of data: Available upon request.

Appendix A

See Table A1.

Table A1:

Country list.

Order DHS-code ISO3 Country name Order DHS-code ISO3 Country name
1 AL ALB Albania 26 LB LBR Liberia
2 AM ARM Armenia 27 LS LSO Lesotho
3 AO AGO Angola 28 MA MAR Morocco
4 BD BGD Bangladesh 29 MB MDA Moldova
5 BF BFA Burkina Faso 30 MD MDG Madagascar
6 BJ BEN Benin 31 ML MLI Mali
7 BO BOL Bolivia 32 MW MWI Malawi
8 BU BDI Burundi 33 NG NGA Nigeria
9 CD COD Dem. Rep. Congo 34 NI NER Niger
10 CF CAF Central African Rep. 35 NM NAM Namibia
11 CI CIV Cote d’Ivoire 36 NP NPL Nepal
12 CM CMR Cameroon 37 PE PER Peru
13 CO COL Colombia 38 PH PHL Philippines
14 DR DOM Dominican Rep. 39 RW RWA Rwanda
15 EG EGY Egypt 40 SL SLE Sierra Leone
16 ET ETH Ethiopia 41 SN SEN Senegal
17 GA GAB Gabon 42 SZ SWZ Swaziland
18 GH GHA Ghana 43 TG TGO Togo
19 GN GIN Guinea 44 TJ TJK Tajikistan
20 GY GUY Guyana 45 TL TLS Timor-Leste
21 HT HTI Haiti 46 TZ TZA Tanzania
22 IA IND India 47 UG UGA Uganda
23 JO JOR Jordan 48 ZA ZAF South Africa
24 KE KEN Kenya 49 ZM ZMB Zambia
25 KH KHM Cambodia 50 ZW ZWE Zimbabwe

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Received: 2024-07-15
Accepted: 2024-09-12
Published Online: 2024-12-24
Published in Print: 2024-08-27

© 2024 Walter de Gruyter GmbH, Berlin/Boston

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