Short-term exposure to poor air quality due to wildfires is associated with skin conditions in pediatric and adult patients. The results of a cross-sectional time-series study were published in JAMA Dermatology.
In the study, researchers aimed to determine the relationship between wildfire-associated air pollution and clinical visits in pediatric and adult patients with atopic dermatitis (AD). Visits in the time frame of October 2018 through February 2019 (before, during, and after the time of the California Camp Fire in November 2018) were compared with those visits in the same time frame of 2015 and 2016 (no large wildfires occurred near San Francisco, CA). Data were pulled from 8049 dermatology clinic visits at an academic tertiary care hospital system in San Francisco, which is approximately 175 miles from the wildfire source in 2018.
A total of 4147 visits were analyzed and the rates of visits for AD during the California Camp Fire for pediatric patients and adult patients were increased compared with non-fire weeks. The adjusted ratios for itch clinical visits in both pediatric and adult patients were also increased.
“This cross-sectional study found that short-term exposure to air pollution due to the wildfire was associated with increased health care use for patients with AD and itch,” concluded the study authors. These results highlight the association between air quality and AD severity. –Lisa Kuhns
Reference
Fadadu RP, Grimes B, Jewell NP, et al. Association of wildfire air pollution and health care use for atopic dermatitis and itch. JAMA Dermatol. Published online April 21, 2021. doi:10.1001/jamadermatol.2021.0179
