Can the climate that you inhabit affect your pregnancy? Most of us would not believe but experts have actually been able to draw a correlation between the temperature of the region where you live and the state of your
pregnancy. Experts at the St. Michael Hospital in Ontario, Canada studied the effects of climatic conditions on pregnant women. Those who were exposed to an outdoor temperature of more than 24 degrees Celsius or above were more prone (7.7%) to gestational diabetes. Pregnant women living in colder climates were at a lesser risk (4.6%). With every 10 degrees Celsius increase in temperature, the risk also got elevated by 6-9%. The study was published Canadian Medical Association Journal and studied 555,911 births among 396,828 women living in Canada over a 12-year period (2002 to 2014).
"Many would think that in warmer temperatures, women are outside and more active, which would help limit the weight gain in pregnancy that predisposes a woman to gestational diabetes," said lead author Gillian Booth, a researcher at St Michael Hospital in Ontario, Canada.
Some of the previously conducted studies have linked colder climates with enhanced metabolism as the brown adipose tissue gets activated in colder temperature and facilitates calories burning, increasing metabolism and better management of insulin.
Experts found that women born in cooler climates who were exposed to cold temperatures during pregnancy had a gestational diabetes rate of 3.6 per cent, while those exposed to hot temperatures had a rate of gestational diabetes of 6.3 per cent.
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