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  • Impact of elevated fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) during landscape fire events on cardiorespiratory hospital admissions in Perth, Western Australia

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Original research
Impact of elevated fine particulate matter (PM 2.5 ) during landscape fire events on cardiorespiratory hospital admissions in Perth, Western Australia
  1. Adeleh Shirangi1,2,3,
  2. Ting Lin2,
  3. Grace Yun2,
  4. Grant J Williamson4,
  5. Peter Franklin5,
  6. Le Jian2,
  7. Christopher M Reid1,6,
  8. Jianguo Xiao2
  1. 1 School of Population Health, Curtin University, Perth, Western Australia, Australia
  2. 2 Epidemiology, Department of Health, Government of Western Australia, East Perth, WA, Australia
  3. 3 School of Humanities, Arts, and Social Sciences, Murdoch University, Murdoch, WA, Australia
  4. 4 School of Natural Sciences, University of Tasmania, Hobart, Tasmania, Australia
  5. 5 School of Population Health, University of Western Australia, Crawley, WA, Australia
  6. 6 School of Public Health and Preventive Medicine, Monash University, Melbourne, VIC, Australia
  1. Correspondence to Dr Adeleh Shirangi; Shirangi.Adeleh{at}Curtin.edu.au

Abstract

Background Australia has experienced extreme fire weather in recent years. Information on the impact of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) from landscape fires (LFs) on cardiorespiratory hospital admissions is limited.

Methods We conducted a population-based time series study to assess associations between modelled daily elevated PM2.5 at a 1.5×1.5 km resolution using a modified empirical PM2.5 exposure model during LFs and hospital admissions for all-cause and cause-specific respiratory and cardiovascular diseases for the study period (2015–2017) in Perth, Western Australia. Multivariate Poisson regressions were used to estimate cumulative risk ratios (RR) with lag effects of 0–3 days, adjusted for sociodemographic factors, weather and time.

Results All-cause hospital admissions and overall cardiovascular admissions increased significantly across each elevated PM2.5 concentration on most lag days, with the strongest associations of 3% and 7%, respectively, at the high level of ≥12.60 µg/m3 on lag 1 day. For asthma hospitalisation, there was an excess relative risk of up to 16% (RR 1.16, 95% CI 1.00 to 1.35) with same-day exposure for all people, up to 93% on a lag of 1 day in children and up to 52% on a lag of 3 days in low sociodemographic groups. We also observed an increase of up to 12% (RR 1.12, 95% CI 1.02 to 1.24) for arrhythmias on the same exposure day and with over 154% extra risks for angina and 12% for heart failure in disadvantaged groups.

Conclusions Exposure to elevated PM2.5 concentrations during LFs was associated with increased risks of all-cause hospital admissions, total cardiovascular conditions, asthma and arrhythmias.

  • AIR POLLUTION
  • CARDIOVASCULAR DISEASES
  • ENVIRONMENTAL HEALTH
  • EPIDEMIOLOGY
  • PUBLIC HEALTH

Data availability statement

No data are available.

https://doi.org/10.1136/jech-2024-222072

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    Data availability statement

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    Footnotes

    • X @AdelehShirangi

    • Contributors All authors contributed to the study conceptualisation and research design. All authors have reviewed and approved the manuscript. AS led the development of the concept and design for this paper, performed the literature review, led the selection, design and arrangement of the exposure assessment methodology, performed epidemiological analysis, including exposure modelling and health risk assessment, and wrote the paper. JX contributed to the acquisition of funding for the statistical analysis part of this study and had a supporting role in developing methods and creating models. TL and GY undertook spatial IDW modelling. GJW advised on spatial exposure modelling. PF, LJ and CMR reviewed the paper. AS and JX are responsible for the overall content as guarantors.

    • Funding This research is part of a large research study partly funded by FrontierSI (CRCSI, Cooperative Research Centre for Spatial Information) under a subcontract agreement between Curtin University and AS (Curtin University reference: RES-60362/CTR-12933 FrontierSI Project 5H02). The WA Department of Health funded the analysis part of this research paper, which AS initiated and conducted the data analysis while she was an employee at the Department of Health. AS had no specific funding for the time she spent writing this paper. Curtin University and Murdoch University provided infrastructure support for writing this paper.

    • Disclaimer The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and not necessarily those of the FrontierSI, Curtin University or the WA Department of Health.

    • Map disclaimer The inclusion of any map (including the depiction of any boundaries therein), or of any geographic or locational reference, does not imply the expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of BMJ concerning the legal status of any country, territory, jurisdiction or area or of its authorities. Any such expression remains solely that of the relevant source and is not endorsed by BMJ. Maps are provided without any warranty of any kind, either express or implied.

    • Competing interests None declared.

    • Provenance and peer review Not commissioned; externally peer reviewed.