Preterm and early-term delivery after heat waves in eight US states: A case-crossover study using the High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID).

BACKGROUND

Heat wave frequency and intensity is increasing and this trend is more pronounced in urban areas. Heat waves may be acutely associated with early birth.

OBJECTIVES

To examine the acute relationship between heat waves and preterm (<37 weeks) and early-term (37-38 weeks) birth in eight states: California, Florida, Georgia, Kansas, Nevada, New Jersey, North Carolina, and Oregon.

METHODS

Daily mean temperatures from the novel High-resolution Urban Meteorology for Impacts Dataset (HUMID) were averaged by zip code tabulation area (ZCTA) and linked to singleton preterm and early-term births identified statewide from vital records. Heat waves were defined based on days exceeding the local 97.5%ile temperature threshold during the 4-day exposure window preceding birth. We conducted case-crossover (conditional logistic regression) state-specific analyses and pooled results using inverse-variance weighting to obtain summary effect estimates. We also calculated ORs adjusting for temporal changes in the pregnancy risk set, conducted an analysis excluding medically-induced early-term births, and modeled effects stratified by 97.5 mean temperature threshold categories.

RESULTS

The analysis included 2,966,661 early-term and 945,869 preterm births occurring from May - September across the eight states from as early as 1990 to 2017. Results showed modestly elevated odds of early-term birth for heat waves occurring in the 4 days preceding birth. Pooled ORs (95%CIs) for 3- and 4-consecutive days above the 97.5 percentile mean temperature were 1.018 (1.011, 1.026) and 1.017 (1.005, 1.028), respectively. Preterm birth ORs were similar, but less precise; OR=1.015 (1.001, 1.029) and 1.019 (0.999, 1.041) for 3- and 4-consecutive days respectively. Estimated odds ratios tended to be stronger for ZCTAs in thesecond-lowest category of temperature threshold.

DISCUSSION

Using fine-scale surface temperature data capturing urban-heat islands, we observed a modest acute overall effect of heat waves on preterm and early-term birth. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP15953.