Research on preadolescents shows that early life exposure to extreme temperatures may alter brain development, especially in underprivileged areas. This significant finding highlights the need for targeted public health interventions to shield vulnerable children from climate impacts. Credit: SciTechDaily.
com Research highlights the susceptibility of fetuses and children to temperature extremes and underscores the importance of safeguarding vulnerable communities from climate change impacts. Brain scans from over 2,000 preadolescents indicate that exposure to extreme heat and cold during early life could have enduring impacts on the brain’s white matter microstructure, particularly in children residing in less affluent neighborhoods. Published in Nature Climate Change , the research underscores the susceptibility of fetuses and young children to harsh temperatures.
This research has been led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a center supported by the “la Caixa” Foundation, and IDIBELL, in collaboration with the Erasmus University Medical Center Rotterdam (ERASMUS MC) and the Centro de Investigación Biomédica en Red (CIBER): areas of Epidemiology Public Health (CIBERESP), and Mental Health (CIBERSAM). In the current climate emergency, the impact of extreme temperatures on human health is a major concern for the scientific community and society. Children are particularly vulnerable to temperature changes, as their thermoregulation mechanisms are.
