Examining the Effects of Exposure to Wildfire-Induced Particulate Matter and Ozone on Child Asthma Exacerbation

Asthma has been a significant and global health concern, especially recently, and its patient numbers are only expected to rise each year. Asthma, as well as other important issues such as climate change, intersect by way of pollutants like PM_2.5 and ozone which may disproportionately affect vulnerable groups, such as children. This correlation remains mainly unexplored. This study aims to examine the impact of such pollutants on childhood asthma in populations in four Pennsylvania counties. This analysis gathers electronic medical record data from Hershey Medical Center, centering its attention on hospitalization rates and counts, as well as new and returning patients, collected into different age groups. In spite of the expectation of finding a correlation between wildfire smoke exposure related pollutants and asthma exacerbation, the study found no significant relationship between the two variables in the selected counties during smoke exposure days. These findings indicate that these pollutants alone, at least in the counties, may not be an adequate predictor of health impacts and that further research into other confounding variables and factors, such as socioeconomic, demographic, and environmental variables will be needed to achieve more comprehensive research on this topic. The study highlights the need for emphasis on more extensive and comprehensive ways for understanding asthma exacerbation, especially as the environment and climate continue to change and influence the severity and frequency of wildfires and their subsequent smoke. Any future research should try to include a broader area of study while considering the myriads of other factors that may contribute to hospitalization rates and health impacts connected to wildfire smoke and its related pollution.