Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California
Abstract Increases in wildfire activity across the Western US pose a significant public health threat. While there is evidence that wildfire smoke is detrimental for respiratory health, the impacts on cardiovascular health remain unclear. This study evaluates the association between fine particulate...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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American Geophysical Union (AGU)
2022-06-01
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| Series: | GeoHealth |
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| Online Access: | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000578 |
| _version_ | 1811342594685272064 |
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| author | Alexandra Heaney Jennifer D. Stowell Jia Coco Liu Rupa Basu Miriam Marlier Patrick Kinney |
| author_facet | Alexandra Heaney Jennifer D. Stowell Jia Coco Liu Rupa Basu Miriam Marlier Patrick Kinney |
| author_sort | Alexandra Heaney |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Abstract Increases in wildfire activity across the Western US pose a significant public health threat. While there is evidence that wildfire smoke is detrimental for respiratory health, the impacts on cardiovascular health remain unclear. This study evaluates the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke and unscheduled cardiorespiratory hospital visits in California during the 2004–2009 wildfire seasons. We estimate daily mean wildfire‐specific PM2.5 with Goddard Earth Observing System‐Chem, a global three‐dimensional model of atmospheric chemistry, with wildfire emissions estimates from the Global Fire Emissions Database. We defined a “smoke event day” as cumulative 0‐1‐day lag wildfire‐specific PM2.5 ≥ 98th percentile of cumulative 0–1 lag day wildfire PM2.5. Associations between exposure and outcomes are estimated using negative binomial regression. Results indicate that smoke event days are associated with a 3.3% (95% CI: [0.4%, 6.3%]) increase in visits for all respiratory diseases and a 10.3% (95% CI: [2.3%, 19.0%]) increase for asthma specifically. Stratifying by age, we found the largest effect for asthma among children ages 0–5 years. We observed no significant association between exposure and overall cardiovascular disease, but stratified analyses revealed increases in visits for all cardiovascular, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure among non‐Hispanic white individuals and those older than 65 years. Further, we found a significant interaction between smoke event days and daily average temperature for all cardiovascular disease visits, suggesting that days with high wildfire PM2.5 concentrations and high temperatures may pose greater risk for cardiovascular disease. These results suggest substantial increases in adverse outcomes from wildfire smoke exposure and indicate the need for improved prevention strategies and adaptations to protect vulnerable populations. |
| first_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:13:48Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-632e2083ce9c4d829fa46a7da3a9fd6a |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2471-1403 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-04-13T19:13:48Z |
| publishDate | 2022-06-01 |
| publisher | American Geophysical Union (AGU) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | GeoHealth |
| spelling | doaj.art-632e2083ce9c4d829fa46a7da3a9fd6a2022-12-22T02:33:44ZengAmerican Geophysical Union (AGU)GeoHealth2471-14032022-06-0166n/an/a10.1029/2021GH000578Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in CaliforniaAlexandra Heaney0Jennifer D. Stowell1Jia Coco Liu2Rupa Basu3Miriam Marlier4Patrick Kinney5Division of Environmental Health Sciences School of Public Health University of California, Berkeley Berkeley CA USADepartment of Environmental Health School of Public Health Boston University Boston MA USAFacebook Menlo Park CA USACalifornia Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment Air and Climate Epidemiology Section Oakland CA USADepartment of Environmental Health Sciences University of California, Los Angeles Los Angeles CA USADepartment of Environmental Health School of Public Health Boston University Boston MA USAAbstract Increases in wildfire activity across the Western US pose a significant public health threat. While there is evidence that wildfire smoke is detrimental for respiratory health, the impacts on cardiovascular health remain unclear. This study evaluates the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from wildfire smoke and unscheduled cardiorespiratory hospital visits in California during the 2004–2009 wildfire seasons. We estimate daily mean wildfire‐specific PM2.5 with Goddard Earth Observing System‐Chem, a global three‐dimensional model of atmospheric chemistry, with wildfire emissions estimates from the Global Fire Emissions Database. We defined a “smoke event day” as cumulative 0‐1‐day lag wildfire‐specific PM2.5 ≥ 98th percentile of cumulative 0–1 lag day wildfire PM2.5. Associations between exposure and outcomes are estimated using negative binomial regression. Results indicate that smoke event days are associated with a 3.3% (95% CI: [0.4%, 6.3%]) increase in visits for all respiratory diseases and a 10.3% (95% CI: [2.3%, 19.0%]) increase for asthma specifically. Stratifying by age, we found the largest effect for asthma among children ages 0–5 years. We observed no significant association between exposure and overall cardiovascular disease, but stratified analyses revealed increases in visits for all cardiovascular, ischemic heart disease, and heart failure among non‐Hispanic white individuals and those older than 65 years. Further, we found a significant interaction between smoke event days and daily average temperature for all cardiovascular disease visits, suggesting that days with high wildfire PM2.5 concentrations and high temperatures may pose greater risk for cardiovascular disease. These results suggest substantial increases in adverse outcomes from wildfire smoke exposure and indicate the need for improved prevention strategies and adaptations to protect vulnerable populations.https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000578impacts of climate change: human healthpublic healthpollution: urban and regional |
| spellingShingle | Alexandra Heaney Jennifer D. Stowell Jia Coco Liu Rupa Basu Miriam Marlier Patrick Kinney Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California GeoHealth impacts of climate change: human health public health pollution: urban and regional |
| title | Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California |
| title_full | Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California |
| title_fullStr | Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California |
| title_full_unstemmed | Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California |
| title_short | Impacts of Fine Particulate Matter From Wildfire Smoke on Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health in California |
| title_sort | impacts of fine particulate matter from wildfire smoke on respiratory and cardiovascular health in california |
| topic | impacts of climate change: human health public health pollution: urban and regional |
| url | https://doi.org/10.1029/2021GH000578 |
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