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Climate change could be messing with newborns' lungs

Embargoed until: Publicly released:
Peer-reviewed: This work was reviewed and scrutinised by relevant independent experts.

Observational study: A study in which the subject is observed to see if there is a relationship between two or more things (eg: the consumption of diet drinks and obesity). Observational studies cannot prove that one thing causes another, only that they are linked.

People: This is a study based on research using people.

French and Israeli researchers suggest babies born in areas that regularly experience hot or cold weather caused by climate change are significantly more likely to have troubles in their ability to fully expand their lungs, and faster breathing rates in baby girls. The study involved measuring the lung function of 343 mum-bub pairs, comparing the results from those exposed to heat at or above 24 degrees and cold at or below 1 degree, against those living in areas at a cool 12 degrees before and after birth of the child. The researchers also found that extra cold conditions were significantly associated with lower airflow through the lungs of female babies. Even though the team cannot prove the temperature causes the lung issues, they say long-term heat and cold exposure from the second trimester until 4 weeks after birth underlines the vulnerability of pregnant women under the effects of climate change.

Journal/conference: JAMA Network Open

Link to research (DOI): 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2023.3376

Organisation/s: Université Grenoble Alpes, INSERM, CNRS, La Tronche, France

Funder: This work was funded by grant 00081169 from the Fondation de France (Ms Guilbert). Design and conduct of the study, data collection, and management of the SEPAGES cohort was supported by grant 311765-E-DOHaD from the European Research Council, grant 308333-892 from the European Community’s Seventh Framework Programme, grants 874583 and 825712 from the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Programme, the projects ANR-12-PDOC-0029-01, ANR-14-CE21-0007, ANR-15-IDEX-02, ANR-15- IDEX5, ANR-18-CE36-005, ANR-18-CE36-0005, ANR-19-CE36-0003-01, and ANR 21-CE34-0022 from the French Research Agency, projects EST-2016-121, EST-2018-264, EST-2019/1/039, and EST-2022-169 from the French Agency for Food, Environmental and Occupational Health & Safety, the Plan Cancer (Canc’Air project), the French Cancer Research Foundation Association de Recherche sur le Cancer, projects PRENAPAR and LCI-FOT from the French Endowment Fund AGIR for Chronic Diseases, the French Endowment Fund for Respiratory Health, and projects 00081169, 00099903, and 00124527 from the French Fund–Fondation de France.

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