Background: Wildfire activity is predicted to increase in many parts of the world due to changes in temperature and precipitation patterns from global climate change. Wildfire smoke contains numerous hazardous air pollutants and many studies have documented population health effects from this exposure.
Objectives: We aimed to assess the evidence of health effects from exposure to wildfire smoke and to identify susceptible populations.
Methods: We reviewed the scientific literature for studies of wildfire smoke exposure on mortality and on respiratory, cardiovascular, mental, and perinatal health. Within those reviewed papers deemed to have minimal risk of bias, we assessed the coherence and consistency of findings.
Discussion: Consistent evidence documents associations between wildfire smoke exposure and general respiratory health effects, specifically exacerbations of asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Growing evidence suggests associations with increased risk of respiratory infections and all-cause mortality. Evidence for cardiovascular effects is mixed, but a few recent studies have reported associations for specific cardiovascular end points. Insufficient research exists to identify specific population subgroups that are more susceptible to wildfire smoke exposure.
Conclusions: Consistent evidence from a large number of studies indicates that wildfire smoke exposure is associated with respiratory morbidity with growing evidence supporting an association with all-cause mortality. More research is needed to clarify which causes of mortality may be associated with wildfire smoke, whether cardiovascular outcomes are associated with wildfire smoke, and if certain populations are more susceptible.
1Environmental Health Sciences Division, School of Public Health, University of California, Berkeley, Berkeley, California, USA; 2Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies, Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA; 3School of Population and Public Health, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; 4Menzies Institute of Medical Research, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; 5Environmental Health Services, Department of Health and Human Services, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia; 6Department of Environmental Health Sciences, Fielding School of Public Health, University of California, Los Angeles, Los Angeles, California, USA; 7Department of Medicine, University of California, San Francisco, San Francisco, California, USA; 8Office of the Chief Medical Officer of Health, Yukon Health and Social Services, Whitehorse, Yukon, Canada
Recommended Citation:
Colleen E. Reid,1,2 Michael Brauer,et al. Critical Review of Health Impacts of Wildfire Smoke Exposure[J]. Environmental Health Perspectives,2016-01-01,Volume 124(Issue 9):1334