Exposure to Smoke Pollution Ups Risk for Hospitalization for Respiratory Disease
By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter
FRIDAY, May 2, 2025 -- For older adults in the Western United States, exposure to high levels of smoke pollution is associated with an increase in hospitalizations for respiratory diseases, according to a study published online April 29 in JAMA Network Open.
Sofia L. Vega, from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in Boston, and colleagues characterized the associations between exposure to smoke-specific fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and cause-specific hospitalizations among older adults in the Western United States using Medicare inpatient claims data from 2006 to 2016 linked to machine learning-derived smoke-specific PM2.5. The study included 10,369,361 individuals, with 57 million person-months of follow-up, and 4.7 million unscheduled hospitalizations.
The researchers found that for respiratory hospitalizations and cardiovascular hospitalizations, smoke PM2.5 concentration-response curves were flat at lower concentrations but demonstrated increasing trends at concentrations above 25 µg/m3. When same-day and preceding week smoke PM2.5 concentrations increased from 0 to 40 µg/m3, daily hospitalizations increased by 2.40 per 100,000 on average for respiratory concerns; hospitalizations for cardiovascular concerns increased by 3.61, which was not statistically significant. There were no associations seen for other causes of hospitalization.
"This information can be used by both policymakers and clinicians to design policies and guidelines to protect vulnerable older adults from the escalating health threats posed by wildfire smoke," the authors write.
Disclaimer: Statistical data in medical articles provide general trends and do not pertain to individuals. Individual factors can vary greatly. Always seek personalized medical advice for individual healthcare decisions.
© 2025 HealthDay. All rights reserved.
Posted May 2025
Read this next
Screening Colonoscopy IDs Similar Rates of CRC for 45 to 49 as 50 to 54 Years
TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- Rates of colorectal cancer detection through colonoscopy screening are similar for adults aged 45 to 49 years and 50 to 54 years, according to a research...
Systemic Social Factors May Increase the Risk of Psychotic Experiences
TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- Experiences with discrimination may increase the risk of psychotic experiences among marginalized young adults, according to a study published online May...
New Classification System Accurate for Nasal Deformities in Cleft Lip and Palate
TUESDAY, June 10, 2025 -- A new classification system seems to be highly accurate for evaluating nasal deformities in infants with cleft lip and palate (CLP), according to a study...
More news resources
- FDA Medwatch Drug Alerts
- Daily MedNews
- News for Health Professionals
- New Drug Approvals
- New Drug Applications
- Drug Shortages
- Clinical Trial Results
- Generic Drug Approvals
Subscribe to our newsletter
Whatever your topic of interest, subscribe to our newsletters to get the best of Drugs.com in your inbox.