Notes from the Field: Asthma-Associated Emergency Department Visits During a Wildfire Smoke Event — New York, June 2023
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Investigations and Outcomes
Daily mean PM2.5 values were calculated using hourly measured concentrations (in µg/m3) from one New York State Department of Environmental Conservation§ air monitor in each of eight regions¶ during June 1–14.** Asthma-associated emergency department (ED) visits were identified from chief complaints in the New York State Department of Health’s Electronic Syndromic Surveillance System (ESSS), capturing all 134 EDs in New York, excluding New York City (NYC).†† Daily mean PM2.5 concentration was compared with a PM2.5 10-year baseline (2013–2022) for June.§§ Daily asthma-associated ED visits were compared between the mean of June 1–5 and June 7, 2023, stratified by region and age group.¶¶ June Pearson’s 1–14 correlation coefficients (rho[ρ]) between paired daily mean PM2.5 and daily asthma-associated ED visits for each region were estimated. This activity was reviewed by CDC and was conducted consistent with applicable federal law and CDC policy.***
During June 1–14, daily mean PM2.5 was highest on June 7 for all regions, except the Adirondacks,††† ranging from 55.2 µg/m3 (Western) to 122.3 µg/m3 (NYC metro), representing 590% and 1,229% increases, respectively, above 10-year baseline concentrations (8.0 µg/m3 in Western and 9.2 µg/m3 in NYC metro). During June 1–14, a total of 1,310 asthma-associated ED visits were identified through ESSS (Figure). Compared with the mean number of ED visits during June 1–5, asthma-associated ED visits on June 7 increased 81.9% (from 80.8 to 147 visits) statewide and at least 35.4% for all regions except the Adirondacks.§§§ In those regions, the June 1–14 PM2.5 and asthma-associated ED visit ρ ranged from 0.31 (Western) to 0.80 (Central). The largest region-specific increases in asthma-associated ED visits and highest ρ estimates were in the Eastern Lake Ontario (179.1% [from 8.6 to 24.0 visits], ρ = 0.70), Central (132.8% [from 11.6 to 27.0 visits], ρ = 0.80), and Upper Hudson Valley (86.4% [from 11.8 to 22.0 visits], ρ = 0.68) regions (Figure). Among persons aged 10–29, 30–49, 50–69, and ≥70 years, statewide asthma-associated ED visits increased 197.6% (from 16.8 to 50.0 visits), 77.1% (from 19.2 to 34.0 visits), 89.0% (from 16.4 to 31.0 visits), and 76.5% (from 6.8 to 12.0 visits), respectively, and decreased 7.4% (from 21.6 to 20.0 visits) for persons aged 0–9 years, from the June 1–5 mean to June 7.¶¶¶
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