Examining fine particulate matter and cause-specific morbidity during the 2017 North San Francisco Bay wildfires.

Background: Recent increases in wildfire frequency and severity necessitate better understanding of health effects of wildfire smoke to protect affected populations.

Objectives: We examined relationships between fine particulate matter (PM) and morbidity during wildfires in California, and whether those relationships differed during the fire compared to a similar non-fire period.

Methods: For nine San Francisco Bay Area counties, daily county-level diagnosis-specific counts of emergency department visits (EDVs) and hospitalizations were linked with county-level estimates of daily mean PM during the October 2017 Northern California wildfires and similar October days in 2015, 2016, and 2017.

Association between coarse particulate matter and inflammatory and hemostatic markers in a cohort of midlife women.

Background: Exposure to particulate matter air pollution has been associated with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality; however, most studies have focused on fine particulate matter (PM) exposure and CVD. Coarse particulate matter (PM) exposure has not been extensively studied, particularly for long-term exposure, and the biological mechanisms remain uncertain.

Methods: We examined the association between ambient concentrations of PM and inflammatory and hemostatic makers that have been linked to CVD.

A case-crossover study of short-term air pollution exposure and the risk of stillbirth in California, 1999-2009.

Background: Associations between ambient air pollution and stillbirth have recently been explored, but most studies have focused on long-term (trimester or gestational averages) rather than short-term (within one week) air pollution exposures.

Objective: To evaluate whether short-term exposures to criteria air pollutants are associated with increased risk of stillbirth.

Methods: Using air pollution and fetal death certificate data from 1999 to 2009, we assessed associations between acute prenatal air pollution exposure and stillbirth in California.

Examining the relationship between ambient carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, and mental health-related emergency department visits in California, USA.

Growing evidence suggests air pollutants may harm the central nervous system, potentially impacting mental health. However, such impacts of air pollutants on mental health and the sub-populations most affected remain poorly understood, especially in California. We examined the relationship between short-term ambient carbon monoxide (CO), nitrogen dioxide (NO), and mental health-related emergency department (ED) visits in California from 2005 to 2013.