Exposure to fires, temperature variations and air pollution during the first three months of pregnancy favor the chances of having babies born prematurely, with congenital malformations or with low birth weight. The data are from a study carried out by researchers from the School of Public Policy and Government of the Getúlio Vargas Foundation (FGV).
Regarding prematurity, the Southeast region recorded the greatest impact considering exposure to fires. The index found a 31% increase in the chance for the baby to be born prematurely, if the pregnant women were also exposed to this phenomenon during the first trimester of pregnancy. While in the north of the country, the chance of a child being born prematurely due to fires increases by 5%.
The increase of 100 fires was associated with an 18.55% chance of more than one child being born with low birth weight in southern Brazil, considering that mothers were exposed to these events during the first three months. The article, which also identified an increase of approximately 1% for the Midwest region, was published in the scientific journal The Lancet.
Among 12 categories of congenital malformation analyzed in another study, the most relevant were in the region of the palate and nose, which had an increase of 0.7%, diseases in the respiratory system, which was 1.3% and in the nervous system with 0.2%. The regions most affected by the impact of fires on the babies’ congenital malformation were in the North, South and Midwest.
Impact of climate change
The factors low weight, prematurity and congenital malformation were also investigated in association with climatic variations. FGV professor and research coordinator, Weeberb Réquia, explains that these three questions are some of the indicators to categorize a healthy birth, according to the medical community. In addition, he points out that the first three months of pregnancy are fundamental for the health of the baby, as it is the crucial moment of its formation.
“Using the same methodology, we identified that the effect of climate on the birth of low birth weight children was only relevant in the North region, specifically in the Amazon region. With a 1°C increase in temperature, there is a 5.16% chance of more than one child being born with low birth weight,” said Réquia, in a statement.
He points out that this effect is cumulative, that is, with each degree increased in temperature, more than 5% chance of the child being born below the ideal weight is added. “In studies in the area of environmental epidemiology, we generally consider the association between environmental exposure and health as a function of a given increase in exposure, to drive risk relevance and future decision-making,” he added.
The professor points out that research investigating the impact of climate variations on prematurity and congenital malformations is ongoing. The next steps include investigating the impact of air pollution on these three factors as well: low birth weight, early birth and congenital anomalies.
crossing the data
To find the results, satellite monitoring data cross-checked with health data were used. In the study on fires, specialists evaluated data from the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), which daily maps the outbreaks of fires in Brazil, in addition to data on births from DataSUS.
Regarding the study of climate variations, in addition to DataSUS, data on remote sensing climate, open to the public, made available by NASA, the US space agency, were used.
“Nowadays, society lives in the age of data, and more and more, we can see that the market is absorbing this reality. For those who have data have better means of action. Also, the volume of information is not the same as it used to be. Now, we have a very large amount and that is why there are tools like Big Data to better analyze the potential of the evidence found in the data”, he said.
Satellite data allow for the monitoring of numerous factors in Brazil and around the world, according to the expert. “By using this data, its application is not only viable to study aspects of health and the environment, as we did in these researches, but also to different areas such as security, transport and economy. These findings can serve as a basis for creating public policies and thus contribute to socioeconomic development, in our country and in the world”, he points out.
Source: CNN Brasil
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