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Sub-daily exposure to fine particulate matter and ambulance dispatches during wildfire seasons: a case-crossover study in British Columbia, Canada
Citation
Yao, J and Brauer, M and Wei, J and McGrail, KM and Johnston, FH and Henderson, SB, Sub-daily exposure to fine particulate matter and ambulance dispatches during wildfire seasons: a case-crossover study in British Columbia, Canada, Environmental Health Perspectives, 128, (6) Article 67006. ISSN 0091-6765 (2020) [Refereed Article]
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Copyright Statement
Copyright 2020 the authors. Reproduced with permission from Environmental Health Perspectives.
DOI: doi:10.1289/EHP5792
Abstract
Objectives: We aimed to assess the immediate and lagged relationship between sub-daily exposure to PM2:5 and acute health outcomes during wildfire seasons in British Columbia.
Methods: We used a time-stratified case-crossover study design to evaluate the association between modeled hourly PM2:5 and ambulance dispatches during wildfire seasons from 2010 to 2015. Distributed lag nonlinear models were used to estimate the lag-specific and cumulative odds ratios (ORs) at lags from 1 to 48 h. We examined the relationship for all dispatches and dispatches related to respiratory, circulatory, and diabetic conditions, identified by codes for ambulance dispatch (AD), paramedic assessment (PA) or hospital diagnosis (HD).
Results: Increased respiratory health outcomes were observed within 1 h of exposure to a 10-lg=m3 increase in PM2:5. The 48-h cumulative OR [95% confidence interval (CI)] was 1.038 (1.009, 1.067) for the AD code Breathing Problems and 1.098 (1.013, 1.189) for PA code Asthma/COPD. The point estimates were elevated within 1 h for the PA code for Myocardial Infarction and HD codes for Ischemic Heart Disease, which had 24-h cumulative ORs of 1.104 (0.915, 1.331) and 1.069 (0.983, 1.162), respectively. The odds of Diabetic AD and PA codes increased over time to a cumulative 24-h OR of 1.075 (1.001, 1.153) and 1.104 (1.015, 1.202) respectively.
Conclusions: We found increased PM2:5 during wildfire seasons was associated with some respiratory and cardiovascular outcomes within 1 h following exposure, and its association with diabetic outcomes increased over time. Cumulative effects were consistent with those reported elsewhere in the literature. These results warrant further investigation and may have implications for the appropriate time scale of public health actions.
Item Details
Item Type: | Refereed Article |
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Research Division: | Environmental Sciences |
Research Group: | Pollution and contamination |
Research Field: | Pollution and contamination not elsewhere classified |
Objective Division: | Health |
Objective Group: | Public health (excl. specific population health) |
Objective Field: | Public health (excl. specific population health) not elsewhere classified |
UTAS Author: | Johnston, FH (Professor Fay Johnston) |
ID Code: | 139930 |
Year Published: | 2020 |
Web of Science® Times Cited: | 19 |
Deposited By: | Menzies Institute for Medical Research |
Deposited On: | 2020-07-16 |
Last Modified: | 2020-08-03 |
Downloads: | 15 View Download Statistics |
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