Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires
Abstract In 2016, unprecedented intense wildfires burned over 150,000 acres in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Smoke from these fires greatly impacted the region and exposure to this smoke was significant. A bidirectional case‐crossover design was applied to assess the relat...
| Main Authors: | , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
| Published: |
American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2023-10-01
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| Series: | GeoHealth |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000860 |
| _version_ | 1827630712018173952 |
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| author | Sara Duncan Charlie Reed Taylin Spurlock Margaret M. Sugg Jennifer D. Runkle |
| author_facet | Sara Duncan Charlie Reed Taylin Spurlock Margaret M. Sugg Jennifer D. Runkle |
| author_sort | Sara Duncan |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract In 2016, unprecedented intense wildfires burned over 150,000 acres in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Smoke from these fires greatly impacted the region and exposure to this smoke was significant. A bidirectional case‐crossover design was applied to assess the relationship between PM2.5 (a surrogate for wildfire smoke) exposure and respiratory‐ and cardiovascular‐related emergency department (ED) visits in Western North Carolina during these events. For 0‐, 3‐, and 7‐day lags, findings indicated a significant increase in the odds of being admitted to the ED for a respiratory (ORs: 1.055, 95% CI: 1.048–1.063; 1.083, 1.074–1.092; 1.066, 1.058–1.074; respectively) or cardiovascular event (ORs: 1.052, 95% CI: 1.045–1.060; 1.074, 1.066–1.081; 1.067, 1.060–1.075; respectively) for every 5 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 over a chosen cutpoint of 20.4 μg/m3. For all endpoints assessed except for emphysema, there were statistically significant increases in odds from 5.1% to 8.3%. In general, this increase was most pronounced 3 days after exposure. Additionally, individuals aged 55+ generally experience higher odds of heart disease at the 3‐ and 7‐day lag points, and Black/African Americans generally experience higher odds of asthma at the 3‐day lag point. In general, larger fires and increased numbers of fires within counties resulted in higher health burden at same day exposure. In a secondary analysis, the odds of an ED visit increased by over 40% in several cases among people exposed to days above the Environmental Protection Agency 24‐hr PM2.5 standard of 35 μg/m3. Our findings provide new understanding on the health impacts of wildfires on rural populations in the southeastern US. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:10:39Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-3af39693cae2446fa0938c14310763b2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-1403 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-09T14:10:39Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GeoHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-3af39693cae2446fa0938c14310763b22023-11-29T11:41:01ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)GeoHealth2471-14032023-10-01710n/an/a10.1029/2023GH000860Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain WildfiresSara Duncan0Charlie Reed1Taylin Spurlock2Margaret M. Sugg3Jennifer D. Runkle4School of Health Sciences Western Carolina University NC Cullowhee USANorth Carolina Institute for Climate Studies North Carolina State University NC Asheville USADepartment of Geography and Planning Appalachian State University Boone NC USADepartment of Geography and Planning Appalachian State University Boone NC USANorth Carolina Institute for Climate Studies North Carolina State University NC Asheville USAAbstract In 2016, unprecedented intense wildfires burned over 150,000 acres in the southern Appalachian Mountains in the United States. Smoke from these fires greatly impacted the region and exposure to this smoke was significant. A bidirectional case‐crossover design was applied to assess the relationship between PM2.5 (a surrogate for wildfire smoke) exposure and respiratory‐ and cardiovascular‐related emergency department (ED) visits in Western North Carolina during these events. For 0‐, 3‐, and 7‐day lags, findings indicated a significant increase in the odds of being admitted to the ED for a respiratory (ORs: 1.055, 95% CI: 1.048–1.063; 1.083, 1.074–1.092; 1.066, 1.058–1.074; respectively) or cardiovascular event (ORs: 1.052, 95% CI: 1.045–1.060; 1.074, 1.066–1.081; 1.067, 1.060–1.075; respectively) for every 5 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 over a chosen cutpoint of 20.4 μg/m3. For all endpoints assessed except for emphysema, there were statistically significant increases in odds from 5.1% to 8.3%. In general, this increase was most pronounced 3 days after exposure. Additionally, individuals aged 55+ generally experience higher odds of heart disease at the 3‐ and 7‐day lag points, and Black/African Americans generally experience higher odds of asthma at the 3‐day lag point. In general, larger fires and increased numbers of fires within counties resulted in higher health burden at same day exposure. In a secondary analysis, the odds of an ED visit increased by over 40% in several cases among people exposed to days above the Environmental Protection Agency 24‐hr PM2.5 standard of 35 μg/m3. Our findings provide new understanding on the health impacts of wildfires on rural populations in the southeastern US.https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000860exposurewildfiresemergency departmentsmoke |
| spellingShingle | Sara Duncan Charlie Reed Taylin Spurlock Margaret M. Sugg Jennifer D. Runkle Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires GeoHealth exposure wildfires emergency department smoke |
| title | Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires |
| title_full | Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires |
| title_fullStr | Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires |
| title_full_unstemmed | Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires |
| title_short | Acute Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke Exposure During a Compound Event: A Case‐Crossover Study of the 2016 Great Smoky Mountain Wildfires |
| title_sort | acute health effects of wildfire smoke exposure during a compound event a case crossover study of the 2016 great smoky mountain wildfires |
| topic | exposure wildfires emergency department smoke |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2023GH000860 |
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