Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2020 Feb 3;130(2):562-564.
doi: 10.1172/JCI135005.

Catastrophic effects of climate change on children's health start before birth

Susan E Pacheco
Review

Catastrophic effects of climate change on children's health start before birth

Susan E Pacheco. J Clin Invest. .
No abstract available

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest: The author has declared that no conflict of interest exists.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1. Adverse effects of climate change on children’s health start before they are born.
Pregnant women exposed to climate change are affected by stress, respiratory disease, nutritional issues, infections, heat-induced illnesses, and poverty. Children are affected in utero, leading to increased risk of intrauterine growth retardation (IUGR), low birth weight (LBW), and prematurity. Fetal programming and epigenetic changes during development also cause long-term adverse effects induced by climate change as children grow due to increased predisposition to a number of conditions, such as attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), autism spectrum disorder (ASD), and other neurodevelopmental disorders; cognitive deficits; congenital heart diseases; allergic rhinitis; asthma and eczema; congenital infections; malignancy; mood disorders; schizophrenia; obesity; type 2 diabetes; and cardiovascular and metabolic problems.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

    1. Smith KR, et al. 2014: Human health: impacts, adaptation, and co-benefits. In: Field CB, et al., eds. Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability. Part A: Global and Sectoral Aspects. Cambridge, United Kingdom, and New York, New York, USA: Cambridge University Press; 2015:709–754.
    1. Ahdoot S, Pacheco SE, Council on Environmental Health Global climate change and children’s health. Pediatrics. 2015;136(5):e1468–e1484. doi: 10.1542/peds.2015-3233. - DOI - PubMed
    1. United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). The Challenges of Climate Change: Children on the Front Line. Florence, Italy: UNICEF; 2014.
    1. Calderón-Garcidueñas L, Kulesza RJ, Doty RL, D’Angiulli A, Torres-Jardón R. Megacities air pollution problems: Mexico City Metropolitan Area critical issues on the central nervous system pediatric impact. Environ Res. 2015;137:157–169. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2014.12.012. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Liu GT, Dancause KN, Elgbeili G, Laplante DP, King S. Disaster-related prenatal maternal stress explains increasing amounts of variance in body composition through childhood and adolescence: Project Ice Storm. Environ Res. 2016;150:1–7. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2016.04.039. - DOI - PubMed