Pollution links to hospital admissions varied with wildfire smoke
Relative risks of cardiovascular hospitalization were 1.09 without smoke waves versus 1.04 with them, comparing two-year particle pollution averages of 9 versus 5 micrograms per cubic meter.
Limit: Pollution exposure estimates represented residential ZIP codes rather than individual measurements
Edited by Boris Djordjevic · AgingResearch.News
An observational cohort study tracked 65.2 million US Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older across the contiguous United States during 2017–2022. Researchers estimated exposure to fine airborne particles at participants’ residential ZIP codes. They defined wildfire smoke waves as at least two consecutive days when smoke particle concentrations exceeded 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
Higher two-year average pollution was associated with more first hospitalizations for cardiovascular disease, which affects the heart and blood vessels. This association was stronger in ZIP codes during years without smoke waves than during years with them. Similar patterns appeared among people whose ZIP codes had annual particle pollution concentrations below 9 micrograms per cubic meter throughout the study.
Why it matters
For cardiovascular health in older age, the findings suggest that pollution risk assessments should account for exposure patterns. Long-term averages may miss intense smoke episodes and underestimate the burden of cardiovascular illness in smoke-affected areas.
Caveats
This observational study could not establish cause and effect, and exposure estimates represented residential ZIP codes rather than individual measurements. The findings covered Medicare beneficiaries aged 65 and older, not younger adults.
- Wildfire smoke waves
- Fine particulate matter
- Cardiovascular disease
- Cerebrovascular disease
- Hypertension
- Humans
The paper
Yale University
Environmental Research, Health, Oct 22, 2026, Open access
