Wildfire particulate matter in Shasta County, California and respiratory and circulatory disease-related emergency department visits and mortality, 2013-2018.

ABSTRACT: Wildfire smoke harms health. We add to this literature by evaluating the health effects of California's 2018 Carr Fire and preceding wildfire seasons in Shasta County.

Methods

With data from the Shasta County Health and Human Services Agency, we examined the link between weekly wildfire fine particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure estimated using a spatiotemporal multiple imputation approach and emergency department (ED) visits and mortality using time-series models that controlled for temporal trends and temperature.

Results

Between 2013 and 2018, Shasta County experienced 19 weeks with average wildfire PM_2.5 ≥5.5 μg/m³ (hereafter, "high wildfire PM_2.5 concentration"). Among all Shasta County Zip Code Tabulation Areas (ZCTAs; n = 36),

SUBMITTER: Casey JA 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7939433 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature