A Perspective on Pediatric Respiratory Outcomes During California Wildfires Due to Smoke and PM2.5 Exposure

Sarah M Naughten; Rosana Aguilera; Alexander Gershunov; Tarik Benmarhnia; Sydney Leibel

doi:10.3389/fped.2022.891616

A Perspective on Pediatric Respiratory Outcomes During California Wildfires Due to Smoke and PM_2.5 Exposure

Front Pediatr. 2022 Jul 6:10:891616. doi: 10.3389/fped.2022.891616. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Sarah M Naughten¹, Rosana Aguilera², Alexander Gershunov², Tarik Benmarhnia², Sydney Leibel^{3

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Affiliations

¹ Division of Biological Sciences, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States.
² Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States.
³ Division of Allergy, Immunology, and Rheumatology, Department of Pediatrics, and Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States.
⁴ Rady Children's Hospital, San Diego, CA, United States.
⁵ Herbert Wertheim School of Public Health and Human Longevity Science, University of California, San Diego, San Diego, CA, United States.

Abstract

As wildfires increase in prevalence and intensity across California and globally, it is anticipated that more children will be exposed to wildfire smoke, and thus face associated adverse health outcomes. Here, we provide a concise summary of the respiratory effects of California's wildfires on pediatric healthcare utilization, examine global examples of wildfire smoke exposure within the pediatric population and associated physiological effects, and assess the efficacy of metrics used to measure and communicate air quality during wildfires within the United States and elsewhere.

Keywords: Air Quality Index (AQI) efficiency; California wildfires; PM2.5 exposure; pediatric; respiratory.