Asthma-Associated Emergency Department Visits During the Canadian Wildfire Smoke Episodes — United States, April– August 2023
Cristin E. McArdle, Tia C. Dowling, Kelly Carey, Jourdan DeVies, Dylan Johns, Abigail Gates, Zachary Stein, Katharina L. van Santen, Lakshmi Radhakrishnan, Aaron Kite-Powell, Karl Soetebier, Jason D. Sacks, Kanta Sircar, Kathleen P. Hartnett, Maria C. Mirabelli
Abstract
) triggered an Air Quality Index ≥101, corresponding to the air quality categorization, "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups." Changes in asthma-associated ED visits were assessed across U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regions and by age. Overall, asthma-associated ED visits were 17% higher than expected during the 19 days with wildfire smoke that occurred during the study period; larger increases were observed in regions that experienced higher numbers of continuous wildfire smoke days and among persons aged 5-17 and 18-64 years. These results can help guide emergency response planning and public health communication strategies, especially in U.S. regions where wildfire smoke exposure was previously uncommon.