Wildfire-season Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Associations with Influenza and Influenza-like-illness Risk in the Western USA.

IF 10.1 1区环境科学与生态学 Q1 ENVIRONMENTAL SCIENCES

Environmental Health Perspectives Pub Date : 2025-06-09 DOI:10.1289/EHP16607

Ava Orr, Nisha B Alden, Elizabeth Austin, Zeina Jaffar, Jonathon Knudson, Jon Graham, Christopher T Migliaccio, Curtis Noonan, Shawn Urbanski, Maximilian Wegener, Erin L Landguth

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

Background: Influenza remains a significant public health threat, with pandemic potential. Understanding environmental factors influencing virus spread and severity is critical, particularly as wildfires become more frequent and intense. While temperature and humidity's roles in virus seasonality and persistence are well understood, the impacts of air pollution-especially wildfire-specific particulate matter (PM_2.5)-on respiratory infections are less explored.

Objectives: This study aimed to investigate the association between wildfire PM_2.5 exposure and influenza or influenza-like illness (ILI) incidence. Specifically, we assessed (1) the long-term impact of PM_2.5 exposure during the preceding wildfire season on influenza/ILI risk in the following flu season, and (2) the effects of short-term PM_2.5 exposure during the active flu season.

Methods: We utilized ILI and influenza data from state health departments in six Western U.S. states (Arizona, Colorado, Montana, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington) from 2010 to 2019. We applied generalized linear distributed lag models to assess the impact of PM_2.5 exposure during the preceding wildfire season on influenza or ILI risk in the subsequent flu season, as well as the effect of short-term PM_2.5 exposure during the current flu season.

Results: Long-term exposure to wildfire PM_2.5 was associated with increased influenza risk in states with influenza data: Arizona ([Rate Ratio (RR) =1.061 (1.026-1.100)]), Colorado [RR=1.067 (1.056-1.078)], Montana [RR=1.038 (1.013-1.063)], and Oregon [RR=1.049 (1.041-1.057)], per 10 µg/m³ PM_2.5 increase. However, the states with only ILI data did not follow this pattern, revealing no observed effect in Nevada [RR=1.005 (0.920-1.097)] and a negative effect in Washington [RR=0.884 (0.842-0.919)]. Similarly, but to a lesser degree, short-term PM_2.5 exposure effects were noted in states with only influenza data, but not ILI data.

Discussion: Our findings underscore a positive association between wildfire-specific PM_2.5 and influenza risk in states with influenza data, suggesting a differential effect of PM_2.5 on respiratory infections. This study supports further investigation into causative mechanisms behind these correlations, particularly considering the increasing frequency of wildfires and the resulting air quality impacts. https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP16607.

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美国西部野火季节细颗粒物暴露与流感和流感样疾病风险的关系

背景：流感仍然是一个重大的公共卫生威胁，具有大流行的潜力。了解影响病毒传播和严重程度的环境因素至关重要，特别是在野火变得更加频繁和激烈的情况下。虽然温度和湿度在病毒季节性和持久性中的作用已经被很好地理解，但空气污染——尤其是野火特有的颗粒物（PM2.5）——对呼吸道感染的影响却很少被探索。目的：本研究旨在探讨野火PM2.5暴露与流感或流感样疾病（ILI）发病率之间的关系。具体而言，我们评估了(1)前一个野火季节PM2.5暴露对下一个流感季节流感/ILI风险的长期影响，以及(2)流感活跃季节PM2.5暴露的短期影响。方法：我们利用2010年至2019年美国西部六个州（亚利桑那州、科罗拉多州、蒙大拿州、内华达州、俄勒冈州和华盛顿州）州卫生部门的ILI和流感数据。我们应用广义线性分布滞后模型评估了前一个野火季节PM2.5暴露对随后流感季节流感或ILI风险的影响，以及当前流感季节短期PM2.5暴露的影响。结果：在有流感数据的州，长期暴露于野火PM2.5与流感风险增加有关：亚利桑那州([比率比（RR) =1.061(1.026-1.100)]），科罗拉多州[RR=1.067(1.056-1.078)]，蒙大拿州[RR=1.038(1.013-1.063)]和俄勒冈州[RR=1.049(1.041-1.057)]，每10µg/m3 PM2.5增加。然而，只有ILI数据的州没有遵循这一模式，内华达州没有观察到影响[RR=1.005(0.920-1.097)]，华盛顿州则有负面影响[RR=0.884(0.842-0.919)]。同样，在只有流感数据而没有流感病例数据的州，也注意到了PM2.5的短期暴露效应，但程度较轻。讨论：我们的研究结果强调，在有流感数据的州，野火特异性PM2.5与流感风险之间存在正相关，这表明PM2.5对呼吸道感染的影响存在差异。这项研究支持对这些相关性背后的因果机制进行进一步调查，特别是考虑到野火日益频繁以及由此产生的空气质量影响。https://doi.org/10.1289/EHP16607。

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来源期刊

Environmental Health Perspectives 环境科学-公共卫生、环境卫生与职业卫生

CiteScore

14.40

自引率

2.90%

发文量

388

审稿时长

6 months

期刊介绍： Environmental Health Perspectives (EHP) is a monthly peer-reviewed journal supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences, part of the National Institutes of Health under the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. Its mission is to facilitate discussions on the connections between the environment and human health by publishing top-notch research and news. EHP ranks third in Public, Environmental, and Occupational Health, fourth in Toxicology, and fifth in Environmental Sciences.