13 EHPC_Project

	metadata_field
title	EHPC_Project
personnel_data_owner	Dr Caitlin Wyrwoll|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-5680 & Dr Erin Kelty|https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0841-2216
project_abstract	This data is part of the newly funded EHPC project. | It will be using state (WA) and national data to examine the impact of extreme heat on pregnancy and neonatal outcomes. Increases in global temperature have result in an increase in the frequency and severity of heatwaves. Pregnancy is a time of substantial physiological change, and thus maternal and neonatal health outcomes are susceptible to adverse effects of heat. There is a lack of knowledge on thermoregulation in pregnancy, including how effectively pregnant people adapt in different climate contexts and what specific environmental conditions present the largest thermoregulatory challenges. The aim of this study is to examine the association between exposure to heat during pregnancy and maternal and neonatal health outcomes across different Australian climate zones. | | All neonates born in Australia between 1991 and 2023 will be identified from national perinatal records (approximately 8.6 million neonates). Perinatal records contain information on maternal and neonatal health, demographics, and characteristics of labour and delivery. Data on congenital anomalies will also be available for a subset of the cohort born in Western Australia over the same period (approximately 900,000 neonates). Records on perinatal and congenital anomalies will be linked to weather data held by the Bureau of Meteorology using geocodes and the ERA5 database. The effect of heat exposure and heat stress on health outcomes during pregnancy will be determined. Exposure to heatwaves during pregnancy will be based on three day average temperatures, average temperature for the 30 days prior, and historical high temperatures for that area. Heat stress will then be assessed by also taking into account humidity, wind speed, and solar radiation as well as temperature. The association between heatwaves or heat stress during pregnancy and health outcomes will be performed using multilevel mixed models, adjusting for covariates including cigarette smoking during pregnancy, parity, maternal age, and Aboriginality. Stratification by socio-economic region, temporal regions, and trimester of exposure will also be carried out. | | Examining the association between exposure to heatwaves or heat stress in pregnancy and maternal/ neonatal outcomes is important, given the increasing frequency of heatwaves. The study will highlight what climate zone confers the highest vulnerability, subgroups who are particularly vulnerable to the effects of heatwaves, and provide valuable information for future planning, and targets for intervention. || Priority: 3 || Access rules: Restricted || Licence: Ethics approval is required to access the data. || Cost to acquire: NA.