Associations between Wildfire Smoke Exposure and Chronic Cardiovascular and Respiratory Conditions in Selected Provinces in Canada: A Retrospective Ecological Study
Abstract:
Wildfire
smoke (PM2.5) has been recognized as an environmental risk factor with severe
adverse health outcomes. Exposure to PM 2.5 can lead to severe cardiovascular
and respiratory health conditions. The study aims to assess and examine the
ecological associations between wildfire smoke exposure and the burden of
chronic cardiovascular and respiratory conditions in Canada from 2010 to 2023,
by integrating health outcome data with wildfire activity and air quality
indicators across provinces. The study used a retrospective study design to
collect secondary data from the Canadian Chronic Disease Surveillance System
(CCDSS) for health outcomes (acute myocardial infarction, asthma, chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), heart failure, stroke) across the
selected provinces, from the Canadian Wildland Fire Information System (CWFIS),
for wildfire perimeters and their causes, and from the National Air Pollution
Surveillance Program (NAPS), for air quality using PM 2.5 concentration as a
proxy for air pollution exposure. The correlation between average PM₂.₅
concentrations and incidence rates was weakly negative (r = –0.106, p = 0.238),
and the wide confidence interval (95% CI: –0.6357 to 0.1593). Similarly, the
correlation between high-risk air quality days (HRD) and incidence rates was
also weak and negative (r = –0.042, p = 0.643), again failing to reach
statistical significance. The findings indicate that wildfire smoke
exposure, though an important environmental health concern, was not a
statistically significant predictor of chronic cardiovascular and respiratory
disease incidence across the studied provinces. This does not negate the
potential health risks of wildfire smoke.
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