Rafah Crossing 'never been closed for one day' from Egypt: PM    Egypt will keep pushing for Gaza peace, aid: PM    Remittances from Egyptians abroad surge 70% YoY in July–May: CBE    Sudan's ambassador to Egypt holds reconstruction talks on with Arab League    Egypt's current account gap narrows, but overall BoP records deficit    Al-Sisi urges accelerated oil, gas discoveries, lower import bill    SCZONE signs $52.6m textile industry deals during China investment tour    Egypt hosts international neurosurgery conference to drive medical innovation    Egypt's EDA discusses Johnson & Johnson's plans to expand investment in local pharmaceutical sector    I won't trade my identity to please market: Douzi    Sisi calls for boosting oil & gas investment to ease import burden    EGX to close Thursday for July 23 Revolution holiday    Egypt, Senegal sign pharma MoU to unify regulatory standards    Famine kills more Gaza children as Israel tightens siege amid global outrage    Kuwait's Crown Prince, Egyptian minister discuss strengthening cooperation    Egyptian Drug Authority discusses plans for joint pharmaceutical plant in Zambia    Egypt's FM seeks deeper economic, security ties on five-nation West Africa tour    Two militants killed in foiled plot to revive 'Hasm' operations: Interior ministry    Egypt, Somalia discuss closer environmental cooperation    Egypt foils terrorist plot, kills two militants linked to Hasm group    Giza Pyramids' interior lighting updated with new LED system    Egypt's EHA, Huawei discuss enhanced digital health    Foreign, housing ministers discuss Egypt's role in African development push    Korea Culture Week in Egypt to blend K-Pop with traditional arts    Egypt reveals heritage e-training portal    Three ancient rock-cut tombs discovered in Aswan    Sisi launches new support initiative for families of war, terrorism victims    Egypt expands e-ticketing to 110 heritage sites, adds self-service kiosks at Saqqara    Egypt's Irrigation Minister urges scientific cooperation to tackle water scarcity    Palm Hills Squash Open debuts with 48 international stars, $250,000 prize pool    Egypt's Democratic Generation Party Evaluates 84 Candidates Ahead of Parliamentary Vote    On Sport to broadcast Pan Arab Golf Championship for Juniors and Ladies in Egypt    Golf Festival in Cairo to mark Arab Golf Federation's 50th anniversary    Germany among EU's priciest labour markets – official data    Paris Olympic gold '24 medals hit record value    A minute of silence for Egyptian sports    Russia says it's in sync with US, China, Pakistan on Taliban    It's a bit frustrating to draw at home: Real Madrid keeper after Villarreal game    Shoukry reviews with Guterres Egypt's efforts to achieve SDGs, promote human rights    Sudan says countries must cooperate on vaccines    Johnson & Johnson: Second shot boosts antibodies and protection against COVID-19    Egypt to tax bloggers, YouTubers    Egypt's FM asserts importance of stability in Libya, holding elections as scheduled    We mustn't lose touch: Muller after Bayern win in Bundesliga    Egypt records 36 new deaths from Covid-19, highest since mid June    Egypt sells $3 bln US-dollar dominated eurobonds    Gamal Hanafy's ceramic exhibition at Gezira Arts Centre is a must go    Italian Institute Director Davide Scalmani presents activities of the Cairo Institute for ITALIANA.IT platform    







Thank you for reporting!
This image will be automatically disabled when it gets reported by several people.



Climate change could raise risk of congenital heart defects
Published in Ahram Online on 20 - 02 - 2019

More babies could be born with heart defects in the future as global warming puts pregnant women at greater risk of exposure to dangerously high temperatures, new research suggests
The study is preliminary, and the potential impact of climate change on congenital heart disease is far from clear, the researchers say. But earlier work has suggested that expectant mothers who are exposed to extreme heat in the spring or summer, particularly in early pregnancy, are more likely to deliver babies with heart defects.
“Early pregnancy, particularly 3-8 weeks after conception, is the critical period for a fetus' heart development,” study coauthors Dr. Shao Lin and Dr. Wangjian Zhang, of the University at Albany in Rensselaer, New York, said in an email.
At present, congenital heart defects affect about 40,000 births per year. Their study, published in the Journal of the American Heart Association, suggests there may be as many as 7,000 additional cases over an 11 year-period.
For the study, Lin and Zhang and their colleagues estimated the number of babies expected to be born between 2025 and 2035. Then, using climate change forecasts from NASA and the Goddard Institute for Space Studies, they calculated the anticipated average rise in pregnant women's heat exposure across different regions in the U.S. as a result of global warming.
While the authors expected to find that heat exposure in the summer would be a problem, the study also showed that “early” heat waves or extreme heat in spring could be dangerous in some parts of the country.
Pregnant women in the Midwest were most likely to be affected, followed by women in the South and Northeast regions of the country, the study suggests.
Dr. Dianne Atkins, Professor of Pediatrics at the University of Iowa in Iowa City, cautions that the data from the study is preliminary and is based only on estimates.
“We cannot be certain” that heat exposure will increase the risk of congenital heart disease, “but it would be prudent for women to avoid becoming overheated during the early weeks of pregnancy,” Atkins, who was not involved in the study, told Reuters Health by email.
The authors of the study agree, advising that pregnant women try to reduce outdoor activities and stay cool during extremely hot weather.
Dr. Geoffrey L. Rosenthal, Co-Director of the Children's Heart Program at the University of Maryland Children's Hospital, told Reuters Health by email that the study's findings “can be used to develop risk mitigation strategies that are specific to particular geographic regions and seasons, and allow for more efficient allocation of public health resources.”
“The analysis is robust and thoughtful,” he added. “Whether the predictions deriving from the analysis will be observed will depend on the validity of the models used to generate the input for these predictions.”
A distinct advantage of this report, he said, is that it is the first time, to his knowledge, that such predictive modeling has been applied “to a rare but impactful health outcome, congenital heart defects.”


Clic here to read the story from its source.