全球变暖会导致早产和婴幼儿肥胖

你也许只是觉得今年的冬天比往年暖和了一点，但实际上全球变暖的危害远远超出你的想象。全球变暖会摧毁珊瑚礁，导致生物灭绝，造成农作物歉收，如今新研究发现，全球变暖还会导致早产和婴幼儿肥胖，并降低怀孕率。

 

The climate crisis is damaging the health of foetuses, babies and infants across the world, six new studies have found.

六项新研究发现，气候危机正在危害世界各地的胎儿和婴幼儿健康。

 

Scientists discovered increased heat was linked to fast weight gain in babies, which increases the risk of obesity¹ in later life. Higher temperatures were also linked to premature² birth, which can have lifelong health effects, and to increased hospital admissions of young children.

科学家发现，气温升高与婴儿体重迅速增长有关，还会增加其日后肥胖的风险。此外，研究发现高温天气会导致早产和更多幼童住院，而早产对健康的影响会伴随终生。

 

The studies, published in a special issue of the journal Paediatric and Perinatal Epidemiology, spanned the globe from the US to Denmark, Israel and Australia.

这些研究发表在《儿科和围产期流行病学》杂志的一期特刊上，研究对象遍及美国、丹麦、以色列、澳大利亚等多个国家。

 

"From the very beginning, from preconception, through early childhood into adolescence³, we're starting to see important impacts of climate hazards on health,” said Prof Gregory Wellenius, who edited the issue with Amelia Wesselink, both at the Boston University school of public health, in the US.

负责编辑这期特刊的格雷戈里·韦勒纽斯教授说：“从孕前到幼儿期再到青春期，气候灾害对健康的重大影响从一开始就显现出来。” 一起编辑这期特刊的还有和韦勒纽斯同在美国波士顿大学公共卫生学院的阿米莉亚·韦塞林克。

 

The link between heat and rapid weight gain in the first year of life was found by scientists in Israel. They analysed 200,000 births and found that babies exposed to the highest 20% of night-time temperatures had a 5% higher risk of fast weight gain.

以色列的科学家发现了高温天气和新生儿体重迅速增长之间的联系。他们分析了20万名新生儿后发现，那些身处那五分之一“最高夜间气温”环境下的婴儿，体重迅速增长的风险会高出5%。

 

Globally, 18% of children are now overweight or obese⁴. A possible mechanism⁵ for the rapid infant weight gain is that less fat is burned to maintain body temperature when the ambient temperature is higher.

目前全球范围内有18%的儿童超重或肥胖。这可能是因为周围温度更高，维持体温所需燃烧的脂肪减少了，因此婴幼儿的体重增长就变快了。

 

Two new studies examined the link between high temperatures and premature birth. The first assessed almost one million pregnant women in New South Wales, Australia, from 2005 to 2014, of whom 3% delivered their babies before 37 weeks.

另外两项新研究观察了高温天气和早产之间的联系。第一项研究对2005年至2014年间澳大利亚新南威尔士州近100万孕妇的资料进行了分析，其中有3%的孕妇未满37周就分娩了。

 

The researchers found that those in the hottest 5% of places in the state in the week before birth had a 16% higher risk of premature birth. Previous research had found a similar effect in the warmer sub-tropical city of Brisbane, but this was the first in a more temperate⁶ region of Australia.

研究人员发现，在产前那周该州气温最高的5%的地区，早产的风险增加了16%。先前的研究发现，气候炎热的亚热带城市布里斯班也出现早产增多的情况，但这是第一次在澳大利亚的温带城市发现同样的情况。

 

The second study analysed 200,000 births from 2007-2011 in Harris County, Texas – which includes Houston – where people are accustomed to heat. The period included Texas's hottest summer on record in 2011.

第二项研究分析了2007年至2011年间美国得克萨斯州哈里斯郡（包括天气酷热的休斯顿在内）的20万例分娩资料，这一时期涵盖了得州有史以来最热的2011年夏天。

 

A quarter of the mothers were exposed to at least one very hot day while pregnant, days when temperature reached the top 1% of historic summer temperatures. The risk of any premature birth was 15% higher the day after these very hot days, the scientists found. But the risk was even higher for especially early births, tripling for babies born before 28 weeks, and was also higher for the most disadvantaged 20% of the mothers.

四分之一的孕妇在怀孕期间至少经历过一个夏日的气温达到史上最高的1%。科学家发现，在极其炎热的一天后，早产风险增加了15%。但是超早产的风险甚至更高，在28周以前出生的早产风险增加了两倍，条件最差的20%的孕妇的早产风险也更高。

 

Hotter temperatures also increased the number of admissions of young children to emergency departments in New York City, another new study found. The scientists looked at 2.5m admissions over eight years and found that a 7C rise in maximum temperature led to a 2.4% increase in admissions in under-fives. Young children lose proportionally more fluids than adults and their ability to regulate their body temperature is immature⁷, the researchers said.

另一项新研究发现，高温天气还增加了纽约市急诊科收治的幼童数量。科学家分析了8年间急诊科收治的250万名幼童患者资料后发现，当最高温度升高7摄氏度时，看急诊的5岁以下幼童数量增加了2.4%。研究人员指出，高温天气下幼童失去的体液比重比成人更高，而且他们调节体温的能力还未发育成熟。

 

The burning of fossil fuels drives the climate crisis but also causes air pollution and a new study in Denmark assessed the impact of dirty air on 10,000 couples trying to conceive naturally. It found that increases in particle pollution of a few units during a menstrual cycle led to a decrease in conception of about 8%.

燃烧化石燃料不仅加剧了气候危机，还导致了空气污染。丹麦的一项新研究分析了空气污染对1万名试图自然受孕的夫妇的影响。研究发现，在一次月经周期内空气污染颗粒物浓度的增加会导致怀孕率降低约8%。

 

Wellenius said an important aspect of the studies was that they showed that vulnerable people often suffered the worst effects, for example people of colour and those on low incomes who did not have air conditioning or lived in areas with higher air pollution. "This is absolutely a health equity⁸ and justice issue," he said.

韦勒纽斯表示，很重要的一点是，这些研究都表明弱势群体往往受到的影响最大，比如有色人种和低收入群体，她们没有空调，居住的地区空气污染也更严重。韦勒纽斯说：“这完全是卫生公平问题。”

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