Scripps Institution of Oceanography and
Scripps Institution of Oceanography and.
Pediatrics. 2021 Apr;147(4). doi: 10.1542/peds.2020-027128. Epub 2021 Mar 23.
Exposure to airborne fine particles with diameters ≤2.5 μm (PM) pollution is a well-established cause of respiratory diseases in children; whether wildfire-specific PM causes more damage, however, remains uncertain. We examine the associations between wildfire-specific PM and pediatric respiratory health during the period 2011-2017 in San Diego County, California, and compare these results with other sources of PM.
Visits to emergency and urgent care facilities of Rady's Children Hospital network in San Diego County, California, by individuals (aged ≤19 years) with ≥1 of the following respiratory conditions: difficulty breathing, respiratory distress, wheezing, asthma, or cough were regressed on daily, community-level exposure to wildfire-specific PM and PM from ambient sources (eg, traffic emissions).
A 10-unit increase in PM (from nonsmoke sources) was estimated to increase the number of admissions by 3.7% (95% confidence interval: 1.2% to 6.1%). In contrast, the effect of PM attributable to wildfire was estimated to be a 30.0% (95% confidence interval: 26.6% to 33.4%) increase in visits.
Wildfire-specific PM was found to be ∼10 times more harmful on children's respiratory health than PM from other sources, particularly for children aged 0 to 5 years. Even relatively modest wildfires and associated PM resolved on our record produced major health impacts, particularly for younger children, in comparison with ambient PM.
暴露于直径≤2.5μm（PM）的空气细颗粒物污染是儿童呼吸道疾病的一个公认原因；然而，野火特有的 PM 是否会造成更大的损害仍不确定。我们在加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥县检查了 2011 年至 2017 年期间野火特有的 PM 与儿科呼吸道健康之间的关联，并将这些结果与其他 PM 来源进行了比较。
通过回归分析，研究了加利福尼亚州圣地亚哥县 Rady 儿童医院网络的急诊和紧急护理设施中，个人（年龄≤19 岁）出现以下至少一种呼吸道疾病的就诊次数与每日、社区水平暴露于野火特有的 PM 和环境来源的 PM（如交通排放）之间的关系。
估计 PM（来自非吸烟源）每增加 10 个单位，住院人数就会增加 3.7%（95%置信区间：1.2%至 6.1%）。相比之下，野火归因于 PM 的影响估计会导致就诊次数增加 30.0%（95%置信区间：26.6%至 33.4%）。
与其他来源的 PM 相比，野火特有的 PM 对儿童呼吸道健康的危害约大 10 倍，尤其是对 0 至 5 岁的儿童。即使是相对较小的野火及其相关的 PM 在我们的记录中得到解决，也会对健康产生重大影响，尤其是对年幼的儿童，与环境 PM 相比更是如此。
