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Roychoudhury S, Tang S, Hasan SU, Fonseca K, Lodha A, Alshaikh B, Alawad E, Yusuf K. Season of conception and neurodevelopmental outcomes in singleton preterm infants less than 29 weeks gestation. Front Pediatr 2025; 13:1492429. [PMID: 40212063 PMCID: PMC11983454 DOI: 10.3389/fped.2025.1492429] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Submit a Manuscript] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 09/06/2024] [Accepted: 02/27/2025] [Indexed: 04/13/2025] Open
Abstract
Background Environmental factors vary with the seasons and affect fetal development. Our objective was to assess the impact of the season of conception on neurodevelopmental outcomes at 18-21 months corrected age in singleton infants <29 weeks' gestation. Methods A retrospective cohort study of infants born between 2006 and 2015 at a tertiary-level neonatal intensive care unit was conducted. The conception date was calculated as the date of birth minus gestational age plus 14 days, and the conception dates were then divided into winter and non-winter months. The primary outcomes were a composite score of <85 in any of the cognitive, language, or motor components of the Bayley Scales of Infant and Toddler Development, 3rd edition (Bayley-III), at 18-21 months corrected gestational age, and scores of <85 in the individual components. Multivariate logistic regression was used to assess confounders. Results Of the 493 eligible infants, 162 (32.8%) were conceived in winter. There was no difference in the adjusted odds ratios (aORs) of any Bayley-III cognitive, language, or motor composite scores of <85 between the two groups. The aORs of cognitive and language scores <85 in the winter group were significantly higher [2.78, 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.37-5.65 and 1.97, 95% CI 1.07-3.62, respectively]. Conclusion Singleton infants <29 weeks' gestation conceived in winter months have worse cognitive and language outcomes. Our results need validation in other and larger cohorts.
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Affiliation(s)
| | | | - Shabih U. Hasan
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kevin Fonseca
- Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Infectious Diseases, University of Calgary and Alberta Precision Laboratories, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Abhay Lodha
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Belal Alshaikh
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Essa Alawad
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
| | - Kamran Yusuf
- Department of Pediatrics, Section of Neonatology, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada
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Jwa SC, Takano N, Tamaru S, Kijima S, Uesato T, Matsubara K, Tanaka K, Doi K, Sameshima H, Iriyama T, Fukushima K, Hirata Y, Fujii T, Ishiwata I, Kamei Y, Seki H. Seasonal variation in home blood pressure during pregnancy and frequency of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy: a multicenter prospective study of home blood pressure measurements in pregnant women using information technology. Hypertens Res 2025; 48:110-120. [PMID: 39443705 DOI: 10.1038/s41440-024-01952-9] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 02/19/2024] [Revised: 09/27/2024] [Accepted: 10/05/2024] [Indexed: 10/25/2024]
Abstract
This multicenter prospective study investigated seasonal variation in home blood pressure (HBP) during pregnancy and its association with the frequency of hypertensive disorders of pregnancy (HDP) and developed trimester-specific upper limits of HBP according to season. Low-risk women with singleton pregnancies were recruited at six university hospitals and three maternity clinics. HBP was measured by a sphygmomanometer twice daily and recorded online using a mobile application. HBP was evaluated according to season (winter, spring, summer, and autumn) and gestational age. Of 705 women recruited, 603 were finally included. Mean diastolic HBP values were lowest in summer and highest in winter throughout pregnancy (mean difference between summer and winter, 3.5-4.6 mmHg). Mean systolic HBP values were also lowest in summer and highest in winter except during the early period of the second trimester (mean difference between summer and the season with the highest value, 2.5-3.4 mmHg). HDP was diagnosed in 32 women (5.3%). The risk of HDP was significantly higher in women who delivered in spring and autumn but not in winter compared with summer. The rounded upper limit of HBP was 120/80 mmHg in the first trimester, 120/75 mmHg in the second trimester, and 125/80 mmHg in the third trimester for summer and 125/85 mmHg, 125/80 mmHg, and 130/85 mmHg, respectively, for other seasons. Systolic and diastolic HBP were lowest in summer throughout pregnancy. Seasonal variation should be considered when interpreting HBP and the risk of HDP during pregnancy.
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Affiliation(s)
- Seung Chik Jwa
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan.
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Jichi Medical University, Tochigi, Japan.
| | - Natsuko Takano
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Shunsuke Tamaru
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Sachi Kijima
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
| | | | - Keiichi Matsubara
- Department of Regional Pediatrics and Perinatology, Ehime University Graduate School of Medicine, Ehime, Japan
| | - Kanji Tanaka
- Perinatal Medical Center, Hirosaki University Hospital, Hirosaki, Japan
| | - Koutarou Doi
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Hiroshi Sameshima
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Miyazaki, Miyazaki, Japan
| | - Takayuki Iriyama
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Tokyo, Tokyo, Japan
| | | | | | | | - Isamu Ishiwata
- Ishiwata Obstetrics and Gynecology Hospital, Ibaraki, Japan
| | - Yoshimasa Kamei
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
| | - Hiroyuki Seki
- Department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Saitama Medical Center, Saitama Medical University, Saitama, Japan
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Essers E, Granés L, Delaney S, Ballester J, Santos S, Petricola S, Yang TC, Fernández-Somoano A, Bereziartua A, Ballester F, Tardón A, Vrijheid M, Lertxundi A, McEachan RRC, El Marroun H, Tiemeier H, Iñiguez C, Guxens M. Ambient air temperature exposure and foetal size and growth in three European birth cohorts. ENVIRONMENT INTERNATIONAL 2024; 186:108619. [PMID: 38603813 DOI: 10.1016/j.envint.2024.108619] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 11/02/2023] [Revised: 03/30/2024] [Accepted: 03/30/2024] [Indexed: 04/13/2024]
Abstract
INTRODUCTION Ambient air temperature may affect birth outcomes adversely, but little is known about their impact on foetal growth throughout pregnancy. We evaluated the association between temperature exposure during pregnancy and foetal size and growth in three European birth cohorts. METHODS We studied 23,408 pregnant women from the English Born in Bradford cohort, Dutch Generation R Study, and Spanish INMA Project. Using the UrbClimTM model, weekly ambient air temperature exposure at 100x100m resolution at the mothers' residences during pregnancy was calculated. Estimated foetal weight, head circumference, and femur length at mid and late pregnancy and weight, head circumference, and length at birth were converted into standard deviation scores (SDS). Foetal growth from mid to late pregnancy was calculated (grams or centimetres/week). Cohort/region-specific distributed lag non-linear models were combined using a random-effects meta-analysis and results presented in reference to the median percentile of temperature (14 °C). RESULTS Weekly temperatures ranged from -5.6 (Bradford) to 30.3 °C (INMA-Sabadell). Cold and heat exposure during weeks 1-28 were associated with a smaller and larger head circumference in late pregnancy, respectively (e.g., for 9.5 °C: -1.6 SDS [95 %CI -2.0; -0.4] and for 20.0 °C: 1.8 SDS [0.7; 2.9]). A susceptibility period from weeks 1-7 was identified for cold exposure and a smaller head circumference at late pregnancy. Cold exposure was associated with a slower head circumference growth from mid to late pregnancy (for 5.5 °C: -0.1 cm/week [-0.2; -0.04]), with a susceptibility period from weeks 4-12. No associations that survived multiple testing correction were found for other foetal or any birth outcomes. CONCLUSIONS Cumulative exposure to cold and heat during pregnancy was associated with changes in foetal head circumference throughout gestation, with susceptibility periods for cold during the first pregnancy trimester. No associations were found at birth, suggesting potential recovery. Future research should replicate this study across different climatic regions including varying temperature profiles.
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Affiliation(s)
- Esmée Essers
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Laura Granés
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Psychiatry, Bellvitge University Hospital, Bellvitge Biomedical Research Institute-IDIBELL, Barcelona, Spain
| | - Scott Delaney
- Department of Environmental Health, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | | | - Susana Santos
- Generation R Study Group, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Pediatrics, Erasmus MC, University Medical Center Rotterdam, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; EPIUnit - Instituto de Saúde Pública, Universidade do Porto, Porto, Portugal; Laboratório para a Investigação Integrativa e Translacional em Saúde Populacional (ITR), Porto, Portugal
| | - Sami Petricola
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Tiffany C Yang
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Ana Fernández-Somoano
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; IUOPA-Department of Medicine, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain
| | - Ainhoa Bereziartua
- Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain; Group of Environmental Epidemiology and Child Development, IIS Biogipuzkoa, Donostia-San Sebastian, Guipuzcoa, Spain
| | - Ferran Ballester
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Nursing, Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain; Epidemiology and Environmental Health Joint Research Unit, FISABIO- Universitat Jaume I- Universitat de València, Valencia, Spain
| | - Adonina Tardón
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; IUOPA-Department of Medicine, University of Oviedo, Oviedo, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain
| | - Martine Vrijheid
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain
| | - Aitana Lertxundi
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Instituto de Investigación Sanitaria del Principado de Asturias (ISPA), Oviedo, Spain; Department of Preventive Medicine and Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, University of the Basque Country (UPV/EHU), Leioa, Spain
| | - Rosemary R C McEachan
- Bradford Institute for Health Research, Bradford Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust, Bradford, UK
| | - Hanan El Marroun
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Psychology, Education and Child Studies, Erasmus School of Social and Behavioural Sciences, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands
| | - Henning Tiemeier
- Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands; Department of Social and Behavioral Sciences, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Boston, USA
| | - Carmen Iñiguez
- Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Statistics and Operational Research, Universitat de València, València, Spain
| | - Mònica Guxens
- ISGlobal, Barcelona, Spain; Universitat Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona, Spain; Spanish Consortium for Research on Epidemiology and Public Health (CIBERESP), Instituto de Salud Carlos III, Madrid, Spain; Department of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry/Psychology, Erasmus MC, Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
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