Prenatal ambient heat exposure and neurodevelopment: A scoping review of human and animal research
Overall, the evidence suggests a potential link between prenatal heat exposure, CNS malformations and altered brain size in animal models; however, the implications for humans remain uncertain. Human studies were scarce and inconsistent in their approaches. Future animal studies should employ realistic heat exposures to improve human applicability, and human studies should utilise consistent outcomes and exposure measures.
Authors
- Ebony Quintrell (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3065-2857)
- Caitlin S. Wyrwoll (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5746-5680)
- Ramya Padmavathy Radha Krishnan (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3495-5919)
- Leaf R Kardol (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4074-5512)
- Amina Rhaman (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0009-0008-2856-4525)
- Aster Gebremedhin
- Erin Kelty
- Stephanie Tan
- Shannon Morgan
- Danielle J. Russell
- Candra Maung
- Azmain Talukder
Institutions
- The University of Sydney (AU)
- The University of Western Australia (AU)
Publication Details
- Journal
- International Journal of Hygiene and Environmental Health
- Published
- 2026-01-13
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijheh.2026.114741
- Primary Topic
- Climate Change and Health Impacts
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 0.00