Division of Neonatology, Pediatric Intensive Care and Neuropediatrics, Department of Pediatrics, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
Department of Epidemiology, Center for Public Health, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
High Alt Med Biol. 2022 Mar;23(1):90-95. doi: 10.1089/ham.2021.0153. Epub 2022 Mar 15.
Klebermass-Schrehof Katrin, Thomas Waldhoer, and Lin Yang. The effect of altitude on birthweight/length ratio: a population-based study over 36 years in an altitude range from sea level to 1,700 m. . 23:90-95, 2022. The negative effect of altitude on fetal growth has been documented, but it is unknown whether this effect changes over time. We investigated the effect of altitude on infant birthweight/length ratio as well as its potential dependence on gestational age and year of birth in the range from sea level up to 1,700 m (Austria). Data on maternal characteristics, infant birthweights, and infant lengths were extracted from all Austrian birth certificates between 1984 and 2019. A total of 2,240,439 birth certificates were identified and analyzed. The effect of altitude on birthweight/length ratio was -2.66 g/cm (95% confidence interval [CI]: -2.77 to -2. 54) per 1,000 m increased altitude in 1984-1986, which decreased to -1.96 g/cm (95% CI: -2.09 to -1.82) in 2017-2019. The effect of altitude on birthweight/length ratio remained constant for preterm infants, which fluctuated around -1.5 g/cm. For term infants, the negative effect of altitude on birthweight/length ratio attenuated from -3 to -1.9 g/cm over time with a stronger decrease for infants born between 41 and 42 compared with those between 37 and 40 weeks of gestation. In summary, our data demonstrate a strong effect of altitude on birthweight/length ratio over 36 years with a smaller effect in recent years and a stronger effect in infants born around term age compared with preterm infants.
克莱伯马什-施雷霍夫·卡特琳、托马斯·瓦尔德霍厄和杨林。海拔高度对出生体重/身长比值的影响：一项在海拔范围从海平面到 1700 米的人群基础研究。23:90-95，2022 年。已经记录到海拔高度对胎儿生长的负面影响，但尚不清楚这种影响是否随时间而变化。我们调查了海拔高度对婴儿出生体重/身长比值的影响，以及在从海平面到 1700 米（奥地利）的范围内其潜在的对胎龄和出生年份的依赖性。从 1984 年至 2019 年，从所有奥地利出生证明中提取了母亲特征、婴儿出生体重和婴儿身长的数据。共确定并分析了 2240439 份出生证明。1984-1986 年，海拔每升高 1000 米，出生体重/身长比值的影响为-2.66g/cm（95%置信区间[CI]：-2.77 至-2.54），而在 2017-2019 年，这一影响下降至-1.96g/cm（95% CI：-2.09 至-1.82）。对于早产儿，海拔对出生体重/身长比值的影响保持不变，约为-1.5g/cm。对于足月儿，随着时间的推移，海拔对出生体重/身长比值的负面影响从-3g/cm 减弱到-1.9g/cm，对于 41-42 周出生的婴儿与 37-40 周出生的婴儿相比，下降幅度更大。总之，我们的数据在 36 年内显示出海拔对出生体重/身长比值的强烈影响，近年来影响较小，对于接近足月的婴儿比早产儿的影响更强。
