Citation

Henderson SB, Brauer M, Macnab YC, Kennedy SM. Environ. Health Perspect. 2011; 119(9): 1266-1271.

Affiliation

The University of British Columbia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2011, National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences)

DOI

10.1289/ehp.1002288

PMID

21659039

PMCID

PMC3230386

Abstract

BACKGROUND: During the summer of 2003 numerous fires burned in British Columbia, Canada. OBJECTIVES: To associate respiratory and cardiovascular physician visits and hospital admissions with three measures of smoke exposure over a 92-day study period (July 1st - September 30th). METHODS: A population-based cohort of 281,711 residents was identified from administrative data. Spatially-specific daily exposure estimates were assigned to each subject based on total PM10 measurements from six regulatory TEOM air quality monitors, smoke-related PM10 from a CALPUFF dispersion model run for the study, and SMOKE plumes visible in satellite images. Logistic regression with repeated measures was used to estimate associations with each outcome. RESULTS: The mean (standard deviation) exposure based on TEOM-measured PM10 was 29 (31) μg/m3 with an interquartile range of 14 - 31 μg/m3. Correlation between the TEOM, SMOKE and CALPUFF metrics was moderate (0.37 to 0.76). Odds ratios (OR) for a 30 μg/m3 increase in TEOM-based PM10 were 1.05 (95% confidence interval (CI) 1.03 - 1.06) for all respiratory physician visits, 1.16 (95% CI 1.09 - 1.23) for asthma-specific visits, and 1.15 (95% CI 1.00 - 1.29) for respiratory hospital admissions. Associations with cardiovascular outcomes were largely null. CONCLUSIONS: Results indicating effects of fire smoke on respiratory outcomes are consistent with previous studies, as are the null results for cardiovascular outcomes. Some agreement between TEOM and the other metrics suggests that exposure assessment tools that are independent of air quality monitoring may be useful with further refinement.

Language: en