Respiratory Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke during Summer of 2018 in the Jämtland Härjedalen Region, Sweden

Tornevi, Andreas; Andersson, Camilla; Carvalho, Ana Cristina; Langner, Joakim; Stenfors, Nikolai; Forsberg, Bertil

doi:10.3390/ijerph18136987

Cited by 10 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 35 publications

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“…2021;18:6987. [ 31 ] Sweden, 2018 wildfire events in Jamtland Harjedalen region Modeled WFS PM 2.5 exposures using MATCH model (complex meteorological and atmospheric chemical data) Clinic visits RR 1.68 (1.09, 2.57) for “smoke days” (daily maximum 1-h mean PM 2.5 > 20 μg/m 3 ) Malig BJ, et al Sci Total Environ. 2021;787:147,507 [ 32 ] San Francisco Bay area, Oct. 2017 wildfires County-level monitoring avg PM 2.5 during wildfire period compared to adjacent periods ED visits and hospital admissions ED asthma visits: RR 1.46 (1.38, 1.55) per 23 μg/m 3 ↑ in PM 2.5 during fire period, vs 0.77 (0.55, 1.08) in non-fire period Hahn MB, et al Geohealth.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Several studies have been published recently assessing a specific link between WFS and rhinitis or allergy symptoms, but with mixed results. Among the previously discussed asthma epidemiological studies, several included an assessment of the association between WFS and acute upper respiratory illnesses (URI), with some showing no significant WFS effect [ 25 , 31 ], one showing a positive association with RR 1.77 [ 23 ••], and one showing less impact of WFS compared to non-wildfire PM 2.5 on URI risk [ 32 ]. Fadadu et al [ 48 ] found a RR of 1.49 (1.07, 2.07) for children and 1.15 (1.02, 1.31) for adults for clinic visits for atopic dermatitis symptoms, during exposure to WFS from the 2018 Camp Fire in the San Francisco area.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and Allergy

Noah

Worden

Rebuli

et al. 2023

Curr Allergy Asthma Rep

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Purpose of Review To review the recent literature on the effects of wildfire smoke (WFS) exposure on asthma and allergic disease, and on potential mechanisms of disease. Recent Findings Spatiotemporal modeling and increased ground-level monitoring data are allowing a more detailed picture of the health effects of WFS exposure to emerge, especially with regard to asthma. There is also epidemiologic and some experimental evidence to suggest that WFS exposure increases allergic predisposition and upper airway or sinonasal disease, though much of the literature in this area is focused more generally on PM 2.5 and is not specific for WFS. Experimental evidence for mechanisms includes disruption of epithelial integrity with downstream effects on inflammatory or immune pathways, but experimental models to date have not consistently reflected human disease in this area. Summary Exposure to WFS has an acute detrimental effect on asthma. Potential mechanisms are suggested by in vitro and animal studies.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and Allergy

Noah

Worden

Rebuli

et al. 2023

Curr Allergy Asthma Rep

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“…With the everchanging and inevitable anthropogenic climate change, aging population and limited healthcare budget, the study of wildfires' impact on senior health is significant to the agendasetting of provincial policy and the sustainable development of national healthcare. [3][4][5][6][7] The City of Toronto and its subordinate municipalities as the most densely populated area became the most suitable place to research the impact and the relationship. The main objective of the research study on the impact of wildfire on Toronto's senior population is to comprehensively assess the cause, health risks and consequences faced by seniors during wildfire events, with a focus on how these events can strain healthcare infrastructure.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Wildfire Health Risks in Relation to Local Senior Population’s CRD Incidence Rate in the Greater Toronto Area

Huang

2023

IJBLS

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Wildfires as one of the most common and frequent environmental disasters in North America, Billions of government spending, public funds, resources, and personnel have been placed to cope with this natural disaster directly. The smoke, debris, particulates, ambient ultrafine particles, and other wildfire emissions have increasingly become a public health concern to which senior populations are particularly vulnerable, due to the populations' general behaviour and their physical health conditions. This essay investigates the implications of wildfires on public health by identifying the relationship between the exposure of wildfire emissions and the incidences of chronic respiratory disease in the senior population in the Greater Toronto Area. This research estimates the effects of wildfire emission exposure by using the cross-examination of the relevant health factors, including the incidence of wildfire; particulate level, ambulance service operation log and reported respiratory emergency disease to the incidences of wildfires. The Geographic Information Systems (GIS) have been placed to estimate the effect range and proximity of CRD incidences to the wildfire location.

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“…During the summer of 2018, the episodes of wildfire smoke were most intense in the sparsely populated region of Jämtland Härjedalen. Our previous study aimed to investigate the short-term respiratory health effects resulting from changes in the composition of the atmosphere due to emissions of pollutants from biomass burning [16]. Using the MATCH chemistry transport model, we calculated daily population-weighted concentrations of PM 2.5 for each municipality in the Jämtland Härjedalen region.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Potential Health Impacts from a Wildfire Smoke Plume over Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Sweden

Tornevi,

Andersson,

Carvalho

et al. 2023

Atmosphere

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In the summer of 2018, Sweden experienced widespread wildfires, particularly in the region of Jämtland Härjedalen during the final weeks of July. We previously conducted an epidemiological study and investigated acute respiratory health effects in eight municipalities relation to the wildfire air pollution. In this study, we aimed to estimate the potential health impacts under less favorable conditions with different locations of the major fires. Our scenarios focused on the most intense plume from the 2018 wildfire episode affecting the largest municipality, which is the region’s only city. Combining modeled PM2.5 concentrations, gridded population data, and exposure–response functions, we assessed the relative increase in acute health effects. The cumulative population-weighted 24 h PM2.5 exposure during the nine highest-level days reached 207 μg/m3 days for 63,227 inhabitants. We observed a small number of excess cases, particularly in emergency unit visits for asthma, with 13 additional cases compared to the normal 12. Overall, our scenario-based health impact assessment indicates minor effects on the studied endpoints due to factors such as the relatively small population, limited exposure period, and moderate increase in exposure compared to similar assessments. Nonetheless, considering the expected rise in fire potential due to global warming and the long-range transport of wildfire smoke, raising awareness of the potential health risks in this region is important.

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Respiratory Health Effects of Wildfire Smoke during Summer of 2018 in the Jämtland Härjedalen Region, Sweden

Cited by 10 publications

References 35 publications

The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and Allergy

The Effects of Wildfire Smoke on Asthma and Allergy

Wildfire Health Risks in Relation to Local Senior Population’s CRD Incidence Rate in the Greater Toronto Area

Potential Health Impacts from a Wildfire Smoke Plume over Region Jämtland Härjedalen, Sweden

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