Dataset Information

Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires.

ABSTRACT:

Background

Forest, grass, and peat fires release approximately 2 petagrams of carbon into the atmosphere each year, influencing weather, climate, and air quality.

Objective

We estimated the annual global mortality attributable to landscape fire smoke (LFS).

Methods

Daily and annual exposure to particulate matter ? 2.5 ?m in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5)) from fire emissions was estimated globally for 1997 through 2006 by combining outputs from a chemical transport model with satellite-based observations of aerosol optical depth. In World Health Organization (WHO) subregions classified as sporadically affected, the daily burden of mortality was estimated using previously published concentration-response coefficients for the association between short-term elevations in PM(2.5) from LFS (contrasted with 0 ?g/m3 from LFS) and all-cause mortality. In subregions classified as chronically affected, the annual burden of mortality was estimated using the American Cancer Society study coefficient for the association between long-term PM(2.5) exposure and all-cause mortality. The annual average PM(2.5) estimates were contrasted with theoretical minimum (counterfactual) concentrations in each chronically affected subregion. Sensitivity of mortality estimates to different exposure assessments, counterfactual estimates, and concentration-response functions was evaluated. Strong La Niña and El Niño years were compared to assess the influence of interannual climatic variability.

Results

Our principal estimate for the average mortality attributable to LFS exposure was 339,000 deaths annually. In sensitivity analyses the interquartile range of all tested estimates was 260,000-600,000. The regions most affected were sub-Saharan Africa (157,000) and Southeast Asia (110,000). Estimated annual mortality during La Niña was 262,000, compared with 532,000 during El Niño.

Conclusions

Fire emissions are an important contributor to global mortality. Adverse health outcomes associated with LFS could be substantially reduced by curtailing burning of tropical rainforests, which rarely burn naturally. The large estimated influence of El Niño suggests a relationship between climate and the burden of mortality attributable to LFS.

SUBMITTER: Johnston FH

PROVIDER: S-EPMC3346787 | biostudies-literature | 2012 May

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

ACCESS DATA

Publications

Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires.

Johnston Fay H FH Henderson Sarah B SB Chen Yang Y Randerson James T JT Marlier Miriam M Defries Ruth S RS Kinney Patrick P Bowman David M J S DM Brauer Michael M

Environmental health perspectives 20120218 5

<h4>Background</h4>Forest, grass, and peat fires release approximately 2 petagrams of carbon into the atmosphere each year, influencing weather, climate, and air quality.<h4>Objective</h4>We estimated the annual global mortality attributable to landscape fire smoke (LFS).<h4>Methods</h4>Daily and annual exposure to particulate matter ≤ 2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter (PM(2.5)) from fire emissions was estimated globally for 1997 through 2006 by combining outputs from a chemical transport model wit ...[more]

PMID: 22456494

Similar Datasets

Project description:Importance:The World Health Organization estimates that the 1 billion individuals who smoke worldwide contribute to the 880 000 secondhand smoke (SHS)-related deaths among individuals who do not smoke each year. A better understanding of the scale of harm of SHS to those who do not smoke could increase awareness of the consequences of smoking and help to design measures to protect individuals who do not smoke, especially children. Objective:To calculate the number of individuals who smoke associated with the death of 1 individual who died of SHS exposure both on a global scale and in various World Bank regions. Design, Setting, and Participants:In this cross-sectional epidemiologic assessment, data from Our World in Data were used to tabulate the number of individuals who smoke in each country and number of premature deaths related to SHS in that country from 1990 to 2016. The mean number of cigarettes consumed in all countries was also included in analyses. Data were collected for the following World Bank regions: North America, Latin America and the Caribbean, Europe and Central Asia, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia, and East Asia and the Pacific from 1990 and 2016. Statistical analysis was conducted in July 2019. Exposure:Secondhand smoke. Main Outcomes and Measures:The pack-year index, calculated as the number of pack-years associated with the death of 1 individual who does not smoke but was exposed to SHS, and the SHS index, calculated as the number of individuals who smoked for 24 years (ie, the mean duration of smoking) associated with the death of 1 individual who does not smoke. Results:Globally, the SHS index changed favorably, from 31.3 (95% CI, 30.6-32.0) individuals who smoked associated with the death of 1 individual who did not smoke in 1990 to 52.3 (95% CI, 51.2-53.5) individuals who smoked in 2016. There was a wide regional variation in the 2016 secondhand smoke index, from 42.6 (95% CI, 41.6-43.5) individuals who smoked in the Middle East and North Africa to 85.7 (95% CI, 83.8-87.7) individuals who smoked in North America. Worldwide, the pack-year index also changed favorably from 751.9 (95% CI, 736.3-770.7) pack-years associated with 1 death in 1990 to 1255.9 (95% CI, 1227.2-1284.4) pack-years in 2016. Conclusions and Relevance:In this study, the substantial disparity among regions in both the SHS index and pack-year index reflected large differences in the scale of the harm of SHS on those who do not smoke. This information may help local policy makers implement measures to better protect those who do not smoke and increase public engagement. Although the number of pack-years and the number of individuals who smoke associated with the death of 1 individual who did not smoke favorably changed over the study period, as of 2016, 52.3 individuals who smoked were associated with the death of 1 individual who did not smoke.

Project description:BACKGROUND:Influenza continues to cause seasonal epidemics and pandemics in humans. The burden of influenza is underestimated by traditional laboratory-based surveillance, and modelled estimates are required for influenza-attributable morbidity and mortality. We aimed to estimate the influenza-attributable hospitalisation in Australia, by influenza type. METHODS:A generalised-additive regression model was used to estimate type- and age-specific influenza-attributable hospitalisation rates per 100,000 population by principal diagnosis in Australia, from 2001 through 2013. Weekly counts of laboratory-confirmed influenza notifications and by type, influenza A and B were used as covariates in the model. Main principal diagnosis categories of interest were influenza and pneumonia and respiratory admissions. A smoothing spline was used to control for unmeasured time varying factors. Results for 2009, in which the pandemic influenza A(H1N1)pdm09 virus circulated, were not included in annual averages and are reported separately. RESULTS:During the study period, the estimated annual average, all-age, annual respiratory hospitalisation rates attributable to seasonal influenza type A, B and total influenza were 45.4 (95% CI: 34.9, 55.9), 32.6 (95% CI: 22.8, 42.4), and 76.9 (95% CI: 73.6, 80.2) per 100,000 population, respectively. During 2009, the estimated total pandemic influenza-attributable, all-age, respiratory hospitalisation rate was 56.1 (95% CI: 47.4, 64.9) per 100,000. Older adults (?85 years of age) experienced the highest influenza-attributable hospitalisation rates for both seasonal and 2009 pandemic influenza. Collinearity between influenza A and B time series in some years limited the ability of the model to resolve differences in influenza attribution between the two virus types. CONCLUSION:Both seasonal and pandemic influenza caused considerable morbidity in Australia during the years studied, particularly among older adults. The pandemic hospitalisation rate in 2009 was lower than the average overall annual rate for seasonal influenza, but young to middle aged adults experience a hospitalisation rate similar to that of severe seasonal influenza.

Dataset Information

Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires.

Background

Objective

Methods

Results

Conclusions

Publications

Estimated global mortality attributable to smoke from landscape fires.

Similar Datasets

OmicsDI is part of the ELIXIR infrastructure

Tweets