Wildfire pollution and respiratory health outcomes in Alaska

Wildfires are known to emit large amounts of air pollutants that can impact the health outcomes of individuals exposed to the pollutants. In Alaska, where wildfires have occurred each year since official fire record keeping began in the mid-20th century, there is little known about the impact of wildfire-derived smoke on the health of the population. This study examines the relationship between fire-derived air pollution (PM2.5) and respiratory hospitalizations. We conducted a case crossover analysis to study the relationship between wildfire-derived smoke (PM2.5 emissions) and hospitalizations for respiratory conditions for the years 2015-2019 in Alaska during the fire season (May-September). Unique to this study, we use a new exposure dataset that provides a daily, gap-free estimates of fire-derived PM2.5 over Alaska. Using this dataset, we are able to quantify the exposure of rural Alaskans to wildfire-derived smoke pollution where in-situ monitoring sites are extremely sparse. We present results by various demographic and socioeconomic groups, including sex, race, and age group.