Prenatal exposure to diurnal temperature variation linked to development of childhood pneumonia, Study says

The results showed that-

a. Childhood pneumonia was significantly associated with exposure to an increase in DTV during one year before conception and entire pregnancy, with ORs (95 % CI) = 2.53 (1.56–4.10) and 1.85 (1.24–2.76).

b. A significant risk of pneumonia of DTV exposure was found during the first and second trimester of pregnancy.

c. Sensitivity analysis showed that boys were more susceptible to the effect of prenatal exposure to outdoor DTV during pregnancy particularly in the first two trimesters compared to girls.

Therefore, the authors concluded that "preconceptional (one year before conception) and prenatal exposure to DTV was significantly associated with childhood pneumonia."

We identified the first two trimesters of pregnancy as the critical time windows. Our results have a clinical significance in assessing the onset and development of pneumonia. Our study also provide a novel strategy for effective reduction and early prevention of childhood pneumonia, i.e., reducing outdoor activities among women preparing for pregnancy when the temperature changes sharply, and avoiding extra exposure to a large variation in daily temperature during pregnancy especially in the first and second trimesters, explains Zheng.