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2012 Colorado wildfire PM raised asthma visits

During a 32-day 2012 fire period, modeled PM2.5 associated with asthma/wheeze and COPD ED visits; cardiovascular associations were largely null.

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Which respiratory ED outcomes rose with wildfire PM2.5?

Asthma/wheeze and COPD (24-h mean ORs 1.04 and 1.05 per 5 μg/m³).

Were cardiovascular associations consistent?

Fairly consistent with no association, though some CIs were wide.

What study design controlled spatial confounding?

Conditional logistic regression matching each 12 km grid to itself over 32 days.

When was the fire window?

5 June to 6 July 2012 (32 observations per stratum).

How biased was the PM2.5 smoke model versus monitors?

Absolute bias ~13 μg/m³ in Denver and the NE fire-impacted stations; 19 μg/m³ east of Denver.

What range did 1-h maximum PM2.5 span?

From 2.02 μg/m³ to greater than 5000 μg/m³ near active fires.

Why might CVD effects have been missed?

Low case counts for cardiovascular outcomes; lack of association does not prove no effect.

What time of day were modeled peaks?

Late afternoon rise (~4 pm) with peaks around 7 pm into evening, coinciding with a collapsing boundary layer.

Was ozone retained as a confounder?

Assessed in two-pollutant models but dropped for parsimony.

What spatial scale was exposure assigned?

12 km by 12 km grid cells with spatially varying smoke, not a uniform fire-period exposure.