Brewster L Madden, Lichty Drew, Broznitsky Natasha, Ainslie Philip N
Centre for Heart, Lung and Vascular Health, School of Health and Exercise Sciences, University of British Columbia, Kelowna, BC, Canada.
Canada Wildfire, University of Alberta, Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Front Public Health. 2025 May 16;13:1578582. doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1578582. eCollection 2025.
An increase in the severity of global wildfires necessitates examination of the associated health risks, particularly in wildfire personnel. Exposure to particulate matter from smoke (PM), soil/dust, and ash (PM) and other wildfire-associated pollutants (carbon monoxide) have previously been linked to acute cardiovascular and respiratory dysfunction. Despite mounting epidemiological evidence of cardiorespiratory-related morbidity and mortality related to wildfire suppression exposures, the chronic effects (>1 year) of wildland firefighting on the pathophysiological progression of cardiorespiratory disease in this vulnerable group remain largely uncharacterized. Thus, a repeated-measures study with open recruitment over 3-years was designed in partnership with the University of British Columbia Okanagan and the British Columbia Wildfire Service (BCWS) to address gaps in wildland firefighter (WFF) health research. The primary aims of the CardioRespiratory Effects of Wildfire Suppression (CREWS) Study are to: 1) Examine the chronic effect(s) of wildfire suppression on selected aspects of vascular and respiratory health in BCWS WFFs, 2) Examine cardiorespiratory effect(s) of acute (e.g., cross-shift) wildfire suppression, and 3) Identify mechanisms contributing to the progression of wildfire-associated cardiorespiratory dysfunction in WFFs. To address these aims, as detailed in this overview, selected clinical and subclinical cardiorespiratory measures, circulating and airway-specific inflammatory biomarkers, heavy metal exposure, and personal air sampling methods to detect wildfire smoke, dust, and ash exposure will be employed across three consecutive wildfire seasons in the same cohort of BCWS WFFs. The findings from this study will provide new insight into the short and long-term impact of wildland firefighting on cardiorespiratory health. This information will inform guidelines and development of future mitigation strategies to improve long-term health and safety in WFFs.
全球野火严重性的增加使得对相关健康风险的审视成为必要，尤其是对野火扑救人员而言。此前，接触烟雾中的颗粒物（PM）、土壤/灰尘和灰烬（PM）以及其他与野火相关的污染物（一氧化碳）已被证明与急性心血管和呼吸功能障碍有关。尽管有越来越多的流行病学证据表明，与野火扑救暴露相关的心肺疾病发病率和死亡率有所上升，但在这一弱势群体中，野外灭火对心肺疾病病理生理进展的慢性影响（超过1年）在很大程度上仍未得到充分描述。因此，与英属哥伦比亚大学奥肯那根分校和英属哥伦比亚野火服务局（BCWS）合作，设计了一项为期3年的公开招募重复测量研究，以填补野外消防员（WFF）健康研究方面的空白。野火扑救对心肺的影响（CREWS）研究的主要目标是：1）研究野火扑救对BCWS WFF血管和呼吸健康选定方面的慢性影响；2）研究急性（如跨班次）野火扑救对心肺的影响；3）确定导致WFF中与野火相关的心肺功能障碍进展的机制。为了实现这些目标，如本概述中详细说明的那样，将在BCWS WFF的同一队列中，在连续三个野火季节采用选定的临床和亚临床心肺测量方法、循环和气道特异性炎症生物标志物、重金属暴露以及检测野火烟雾、灰尘和灰烬暴露的个人空气采样方法。这项研究的结果将为野外灭火对心肺健康的短期和长期影响提供新的见解。这些信息将为指导方针和未来缓解策略的制定提供依据，以改善WFF的长期健康和安全状况。
