Estimating the Impact of PM2.5 on Hospital Burden from Respiratory and Cardiovascular Conditions in Southern Oregon: A Case-Crossover Analysis

It is crucial to assess health impacts of PM2.5, especially from wildfire smoke, to ensure proper planning for healthcare services. Studies often focus on respiratory conditions; fewer estimate the additional burden of cardiovascular complications. This study aims to extend previous work on the impacts of wildfire smoke and associated PM2.5 on health in Southern Oregon by expanding study areas and timeframes, including cardiovascular conditions, and applying improved and novel air quality measurement data. This study adopts a case-crossover approach using conditional Poisson regression to analyze time stratified patient counts while controlling for mean temperature. Every 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 is associated with a 1.6% increase in same-day hospital or emergency room admission rates for respiratory conditions (OR = 1.0157; 95% CI: 1.0024–1.0287) and no significant increase in admission rates for cardiovascular conditions. A 10 μg/m3 increase in PM2.5 lasting fifteen days is associated with a 6.5% increase in hospital or emergency room admission rates for respiratory conditions (OR = 1.0645; 95% CI: 1.0400–1.0894) and a 4.9% increase in hospital or emergency room admission rates for cardiovascular conditions (OR = 1.0493; 95% CI: 1.0265–1.0723). As the duration of poor air quality increases, the risk of negative respiratory and cardiovascular health outcomes increases.