Fine Particles in Wildfire Smoke and Pediatric Respiratory Health in California.

BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES

Exposure to airborne fine particles with diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM) pollution is a well-established cause of respiratory diseases in children; whether wildfire-specific PM causes more damage, however, remains uncertain. We examine the associations between wildfire-specific PM and pediatric respiratory health during the period 2011-2017 in San Diego County, California, and compare these results with other sources of PM.

METHODS

Visits to emergency and urgent care facilities of Rady's Children Hospital network in San Diego County, California, by individuals (aged ≤19 years) with ≥1 of the following respiratory conditions: difficulty breathing, respiratory distress, wheezing, asthma, or cough were regressed on daily, community-level exposure to wildfire-specific PM and PM from ambient sources (eg, traffic emissions).

RESULTS

A 10-unit increase in PM (from nonsmoke sources) was estimated to increase the number of admissions by 3.7% (95% confidence interval: 1.2% to 6.1%). In contrast, the effect of PM attributable to wildfire was estimated to be a 30.0% (95% confidence interval: 26.6% to 33.4%) increase in visits.

CONCLUSIONS

Wildfire-specific PM was found to be ∼10 times more harmful on children's respiratory health than PM from other sources, particularly for children aged 0 to 5 years. Even relatively modest wildfires and associated PM resolved on our record produced major health impacts, particularly for younger children, in comparison with ambient PM.