Smoke from wildfires has long been known to exacerbate health problems such as heart disease, lung conditions and asthma, but a new study finds that smoke from wildfires can cause poor health in thousands of people. kilometers. Researchers at the University of Maryland’s Institute for Health Computing (UM-IHC) found that medical visits for heart and lung problems increased by nearly 20% for six days in June 2023, when smoke from Wildfires in Western Canada have spread across the country, leading to days of very poor air quality in Baltimore and the surrounding region.
The new findings were published today in the journal Open JAMA Network.
During the summer of 2023, severe wildfires in Canada created a large plume that drifted 2,000 miles across the country, leading to poor air quality on the east coast of the United States and many people suffering from respiratory problems which led them to the doctor.
“Baltimore had very dark skies and we could all smell the smoke in the air,” said Mary Maldarelli, MD, a pulmonary critical care fellow at the University of Maryland School of Medicine (UMSOM), who is the first author of the study. “But more importantly, my patients came to me saying they were coughing a little more and needed their medication more often. So they felt a lot sicker than usual when these wildfires were happening. » Dr. Maldarelli is also a resident in Pulmonary and Critical Care Medicine at the University of Maryland Medical Center.
To determine whether the smoky days led to quantifiable health consequences, she teamed up with data scientists and visualization experts at UM-IHC, which has access to nearly 2 million patient records de-identified from the University of Maryland Medical System (UMMS). .
Researchers analyzed satellite data and Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) data to identify six “hot spot” days in June 2023 with high levels of air pollution linked to wildfire smoke in the region. Maryland. These days exceeded EPA standards for safe air quality in all 23 Maryland counties.
The team then analyzed de-identified electronic health records from UMMS, comparing medical visits for heart-lung or cardiopulmonary problems from June 2023 with medical visits from June 2018 and June 2019. These included emergency department visits, hospital admissions and outpatient consultations. visits.
We found that hotspot days were associated with an 18% increased likelihood that patients would seek medical attention for complications related to cardiopulmonary disease. We also found a 55 percent increase in the risk of outpatient visits for heart and lung problems; these patients tended to be older, nonsmokers, and more socioeconomically well-off than typical patients who see their doctors for cardiovascular problems on good air quality days.
Bradley Maron, MD, corresponding study author, professor of medicine at UMSOM and co-executive director of UM-IHC
This finding could highlight the importance of access to health care and indicate that the most disadvantaged patients are not receiving the medical care they need on high-risk days filled with smoke from wildfires.
With more weather events expected in the future, doctors may need better tools to help disadvantaged patients on hot days.
“We have an opportunity to leverage the capabilities of the UM-IHC to proactively identify patients most at risk and provide them with anticipatory care,” said UMSOM Dean Mark T. Gladwin, MD, who is the John Z. and Akiko K. Bowers Distinguished Professor and vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland, Baltimore. “There may be crucial ways to prevent cardiovascular complications on days when the air is polluted by smoke, simply by providing telehealth visits or other means of accessing care.” »
Amir Sapkota, PhD, and Hyeonjin Song, PhD, of the University of Maryland School of Public Health, performed the satellite and EPA analyzes for the study. Study co-authors also included faculty from the University of Maryland, College Park, the University of Maryland School of Pharmacy and the University of Maryland Medical System.
“Being able to access clinical data at a granular level and our ability to apply advanced analytical tools such as this is critical and essential to the future of healthcare and allows UMMS to be at the forefront of “guardian of innovative medicine that will help guide patient care in the years to come,” said study co-author Warren D’Souza, PhD, co-director of the UM-IHC and senior vice president /director of innovation at the UMMS.
Funding for the study was provided by Montgomery County, Maryland, and the University of Maryland Strategic Partnership: MPowering the State, a formal collaboration between the University of Maryland, College Park and the University of Maryland , Baltimore.
