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Updated: Jan 10, 2026
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A Novel Method for Involving Women of Color at High Risk for Preterm Birth in Research Priority Setting
Published on: January 12, 2018
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Identifying county-level effect modifiers of the association between heat waves and preterm birth using a Bayesian
Shuqi Lin1, Howard H Chang2, Lyndsey A Darrow3
1Department of Biostatistics, Yale School of Public Health, Yale University, New Haven, CT, USA.
Spatial and Spatio-Temporal Epidemiology
|November 28, 2025
Summary
High temperatures increase preterm birth risks, especially for vulnerable groups. Factors like housing quality and social vulnerability influence these risks, highlighting areas for public health intervention.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Health
- Epidemiology
- Spatial Statistics
Background:
- Elevated temperatures are linked to adverse health outcomes, particularly impacting pregnant individuals and fetuses.
- Previous research explored temperature-preterm birth links geographically, but less on spatial variations and contributing factors.
Purpose of the Study:
- To estimate county-level associations between heat waves and preterm birth across eight US states.
- To identify county-level factors that modify these heat wave-preterm birth associations.
Main Methods:
- A two-stage modeling approach was employed.
- Hierarchical Bayesian spatial meta-regression, incorporating conditional autoregressive models, was used to account for spatial correlation within states.
- An R package, SpMeta, was developed for synthesizing area-level risk estimates.
Main Results:
- Identified significant county-level associations between heat waves and preterm birth.
- Several modifying factors were reported, including housing quality, energy affordability, and social vulnerability indicators (minority status, language barriers).
Conclusions:
- Spatial heterogeneity exists in the associations between heat waves and preterm birth.
- modifiable factors such as socioeconomic and housing characteristics can influence heat wave impacts on preterm birth, offering targets for mitigation strategies.
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