Assessment of the Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and four alternate AQHI-Plus amendments for wildfire seasons in British Columbia.

ABSTRACT:

Objective

Wildfire smoke is an important source of air pollution associated with a range of cardiopulmonary health conditions. The Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) is the most widely used tool in Canada to communicate with the public about air pollution, but it may not adequately reflect health risks from wildfire smoke. The objective of this study was to evaluate the ability of the AQHI and four alternate AQHI-Plus amendments to predict adverse population health effects from wildfire smoke.

Methods

The maximum 1-h values of the AQHI and the four amendments were calculated for each 48-h period of the wildfire seasons from 2010 to 2017 for 32 health units in British Columbia. Generalized Poisson models were used to estimate the association between these values and daily counts

SUBMITTER: Yao J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7046905 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature