Ambient temperature and stillbirth risks in northern Sweden, 1880-1950.
Environ Epidemiol 2021;
5:e176. [PMID:
34909556 PMCID:
PMC8663868 DOI:
10.1097/ee9.0000000000000176]
[Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/22/2021] [Accepted: 09/28/2021] [Indexed: 11/26/2022] Open
Abstract
Background
Climate vulnerability of the unborn can contribute to adverse birth outcomes, in particular, but it is still not well understood. We investigated the association between ambient temperature and stillbirth risk among a historical population in northern Sweden (1880-1950).
Methods
We used digitized parish records and daily temperature data from the study region covering coastal and inland communities some 600 km north of Stockholm, Sweden. The data included 141,880 births, and 3,217 stillbirths, corresponding to a stillbirth rate of 22.7 (1880-1950). The association between lagged temperature (0-7 days before birth) and stillbirths was estimated using a time-stratified case-crossover design. Incidence risk ratios (IRR) with 95% confidence intervals were computed, and stratified by season and sex.
Results
We observed that the stillbirth risk increased both at low and high temperatures during the extended summer season (April to September), at -10°C, and the IRR was 2.3 (CI 1.28, 4.00) compared to the minimum mortality temperature of +15°C. No clear effect of temperature during the extended winter season (October to March) was found. Climate vulnerability was greater among the male fetus compared to the female counterparts.
Conclusion
In this subarctic setting before and during industrialization, both heat and cold during the warmer season increased the stillbirth risk. Urbanization and socio-economic development might have contributed to an uneven decline in climate vulnerability of the unborn.
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