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Inconsistent Link Seen Between Wildfires and CVD Events, Mortality

Medically reviewed by Drugs.com.

By Elana Gotkine HealthDay Reporter

THURSDAY, Feb. 20, 2025 -- Evidence of increased rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD) events and death during U.S. wildfires is inconsistent between wildfires, according to a study published online Feb. 5 in the Journal of the American Heart Association.

Stacey E. Alexeeff, Ph.D., from Kaiser Permanente Northern California in Pleasanton, and colleagues examined the association between acute CVD events and wildfire air pollution in California in 2018 in a study involving 3.2 million adults (aged 18 years and older) with a total follow-up of 587.9 million person-days.

The researchers found that compared with low fine particulate matter concentrations (<12 µg/m3), a high level of fine particulate matter (≥35 µg/m3) during the Mendocino Complex wildfire in July to August 2018 was associated with an increased rate of CVD events and death (rate ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 1.231 [1.039 to 1.458] and 1.358 [1.128 to 1.635], respectively). In contrast, no evidence for an increased risk was seen during the Camp wildfire in November 2018 (rate ratios [95 percent confidence intervals], 0.966 [0.894 to 1.044] and 0.985 [0.904 to 1.074] for CVD events and all-cause mortality, respectively).

"Our mixed results for the two major 2018 wildfires are similar to prior literature showing inconsistent associations across studies," the authors write. "With ongoing climate change, large wildfires are a pressing public health concern, and determining the underlying drivers of these mixed results remains an important research need."

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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.

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Posted February 2025

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