Acute health impact of wildfire-related and conventional PM2.5 in the United States: A narrative review

Abstract

• Economic activities and wildfire events lead U.S. PM 2.5 concentration climbing back • Few studies focused on summarizing health effects from short-term PM 2.5 exposure • Both sources of PM 2.5 have acute impacts on cardiovascular-respiratory disorders • Less is known of PM 2.5 on other health outcomes, especially on work loss days • Information of PM 2.5 on vulnerable populations is needed to inform interventions The impacts of air pollution on public health have become great concerns worldwide. Particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter small than 2.5μm (PM 2.5 ), either from conventional sources such as traffic emissions or wildfire smoke, is among the most damaging air pollutants and has been documented to cause both acute and chronic diseases and their exacerbations. Owing to increasing economic activities, consumption of natural gasses, and wildfires, the concentration of PM 2.5 in the United States climbed back again. Compared with a large body of research summarizing PM 2.5 chronic effects on health, fewer studies focused on its acute health impacts. We conducted a narrative review of the available epidemiology studies evaluating the associations between short-term PM 2.5 exposure and acute health outcomes including work loss days. Compared to the studies investigating wildfire PM 2.5 effects, we found a larger body of evidence indicating the acute impact of conventional PM 2.5 exposure on various health effects, especially on respiratory and cardiovascular disorders, including related to emergency and hospital visits, as well as disease-specific and all-cause mortalities. More studies are needed to fully understand the extent of the acute health impact of PM 2.5 exposure from both sources, especially from wildfires, and on neuropsychological, and metabolic disorders and birth outcomes; and on outcomes such as work loss days, which are not perceived as severe enough to necessitate medical assistance but affect a large population. More research on vulnerable populations from wildfire PM 2.5 exposure is also needed to inform public health interventions. :