Dataset Information

Effect of catastrophic wildfires on asthmatic outcomes in obese children: breathing fire.

ABSTRACT: Air pollutants from wildfires and obesity independently exacerbate asthma, yet no study has determined the combined effects of these 2 variables on asthma outcomes.To determine the effect of 2 catastrophic wildfires affecting the Southern California region (in 2003 and 2007) on several asthma outcomes in a cohort of children.To investigate the association between wildfire exposure and asthma outcomes, we stratified our study population by body mass index categories (underweight, normal, overweight, and obese) and zip codes (to distinguish individuals who were closer to the fires vs farther away). The primary outcome was the prevalence of physician-dispensed short-acting ?-agonist (SABAs). Secondary outcomes included the rate of emergency department visits and/or hospitalizations for asthma, the frequency of oral corticosteroid use for asthma, and number of new diagnoses of asthma.A total of 2,195 and 3,965 asthmatic children were analyzed as part of our retrospective cohort during the 2003 and 2007 wildfires, respectively. SABA dispensing increased the most in the obese group after the 2003 wildfires (P < .05). Increased prevalence of SABA dispensing was also noted in the obese group in 2007, but this was not statistically higher than the increases seen in other body mass index groups. There was no observed increase in emergency department and/or hospitalization rates, oral corticosteroid dispensing frequency, or new asthma diagnoses after either wildfire.Catastrophic wildfires lead to worsening asthma outcomes, particularly in obese individuals. This study gives further evidence of a link between obesity and asthma severity and suggests that air pollutants released during wildfires can have substantial detrimental effects on asthma control.

SUBMITTER: Tse K

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4387007 | biostudies-literature | 2015 Apr

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Effect of catastrophic wildfires on asthmatic outcomes in obese children: breathing fire.

Tse Kevin K Chen Lie L Tse Mabel M Zuraw Bruce B Christiansen Sandra S

Annals of allergy, asthma & immunology : official publication of the American College of Allergy, Asthma, & Immunology 20150304 4

<h4>Background</h4>Air pollutants from wildfires and obesity independently exacerbate asthma, yet no study has determined the combined effects of these 2 variables on asthma outcomes.<h4>Objective</h4>To determine the effect of 2 catastrophic wildfires affecting the Southern California region (in 2003 and 2007) on several asthma outcomes in a cohort of children.<h4>Methods</h4>To investigate the association between wildfire exposure and asthma outcomes, we stratified our study population by body ...[more]

PMID: 25747784

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Project description:Crown fires associated with extreme fire severity are extremely difficult to control. We have assessed fire severity using differenced Normalized Burn Ratio (dNBR) from Landsat imagery in 15 historical wildfires of Pinus halepensis Mill. We have considered a wide range of innovative topographic, fuel and fire behavior variables with the purposes of (1) determining the variables that influence fire severity patterns among fires (considering the 15 wildfires together) and (2) ascertaining whether different variables affect extreme fire severity within the three fire types (topographic, convective and wind-driven fires). The among-fires analysis showed that fires in less arid climates and with steeper slopes had more extreme severity. In less arid conditions there was more crown fuel accumulation and closer forest structures, promoting high vertical and horizontal fuel continuity and extreme fire severity. The analyses carried out for each fire separately (within fires) showed more extreme fire severity in areas in northern aspects, with steeper slopes, with high crown biomass and in climates with more water availability. In northern aspects solar radiation was lower and fuels had less water limitation to growth which, combined with steeper slopes, produced more extreme severity. In topographic fires there was more extreme severity in northern aspects with steeper slopes and in areas with more water availability and high crown biomass; in convection-dominated fires there was also more extreme fire severity in northern aspects with high biomass; while in wind-driven fires there was only a slight interaction between biomass and water availability. This latter pattern could be related to the fact that wind-driven fires spread with high wind speed, which could have minimized the effect of other variables. In the future, and as a consequence of climate change, new zones with high crown biomass accumulated in non-common drought areas will be available to burn as extreme severity wildfires.

Dataset Information

Effect of catastrophic wildfires on asthmatic outcomes in obese children: breathing fire.

Publications

Effect of catastrophic wildfires on asthmatic outcomes in obese children: breathing fire.

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