The Effect of High and Low Ambient Temperature on Infant Health: A Systematic Review

Darshnika Pemi Lakhoo, Helen Abigail Blake, Matthew Francis Chersich, Britt Nakstad and Sari Kovats
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Darshnika Pemi Lakhoo: Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
Helen Abigail Blake: Department of Health Services Research and Policy, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK
Matthew Francis Chersich: Wits Reproductive Health and HIV Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Witwatersrand, Johannesburg 2001, South Africa
Britt Nakstad: Division Paediatric Adolescent Medicine, Institute of Clinical Medicine, University of Oslo, NO-0316 Oslo, Norway
Sari Kovats: Centre for Climate Change and Planetary Health, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, London WC1E 7HT, UK

IJERPH, 2022, vol. 19, issue 15, 1-18

Abstract: Children, and particularly infants, have physiological, anatomic, and social factors that increase vulnerability to temperature extremes. We performed a systematic review to explore the association between acute adverse infant outcomes (children 0–1 years) and exposure to high and low ambient temperatures. MEDLINE (Pubmed), Embase, CINAHL Plus, and Global Health were searched alongside the reference lists of key papers. We included published journal papers in English that assessed adverse infant outcomes related to short-term weather-related temperature exposure. Twenty-six studies met our inclusion criteria. Outcomes assessed included: infant mortality ( n = 9), sudden infant death syndrome ( n = 5), hospital visits or admissions ( n = 5), infectious disease outcomes ( n = 5), and neonatal conditions such as jaundice ( n = 2). Higher temperatures were associated with increased risk of acute infant mortality, hospital admissions, and hand, foot, and mouth disease. Several studies identified low temperature impacts on infant mortality and episodes of respiratory disease. Findings on temperature risks for sudden infant death syndrome were inconsistent. Only five studies were conducted in low- or middle-income countries, and evidence on subpopulations and temperature-sensitive infectious diseases was limited. Public health measures are required to reduce the impacts of heat and cold on infant health.

Keywords: heat exposure; cold exposure; ambient temperature; SIDS; mortality; neonatal health; infant health (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2022
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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