CDC: Emergency visits for asthma jumped on June 7, when wildfire smoke blanketed New York

There was an 82% jump in asthma-associated emergency department visits across parts of New York State, and 55% on Long Island, for June 7, the day wildfire smoke from Canada blanketed the region, compared with prior days, a new report released Thursday said.

And across the nation, asthma-associated emergency department visits went up 17% during the 19 days that wildfire smoke was rated “unhealthy for sensitive groups” or worse between April 30 and Aug. 4, researchers said in a separate study. Both were published in the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report.

The new data bolsters anecdotal reports and limited studies that show the wildfire smoke has a negative impact on people with respiratory issues, such as asthma.

Officials at Northwell Health, the state's largest health system, said asthma-related visits to their emergency departments increased by 15% for the week of June 7-13 compared with that same time period in 2022.

Scientists have said more research is needed to better understand the longer-term effects of exposure to smoke, specifically the potentially-dangerous particulate matter that it carries.

 "Wildfires are likely to become more common with climate change, so it is critical that we examine public health impacts and risks associated with these events,” state Health Commissioner Dr. James McDonald said in a statement.

The national study pointed out that millions of U.S. adults and children have been exposed to wildfire smoke originating from Canada beginning in April 2023.

“However, little is known about the health implications of prolonged episodes of high concentrations of wildfire smoke," the study said. "As a result, rapid assessment of related health impacts is needed to guide risk communications and reduce exposures and health effects attributed to wildfire smoke.”

Health experts have said that short-term exposure to particulate matter in wildfire smoke can worsen respiratory and cardiovascular issues. But they said it is more challenging to measure these short-term exposures compared to more consistent forms of air pollution.

The study looked at data from more than 4,300 emergency departments across the U.S. during the 19 days that intense wildfire smoke was present. Researchers said the higher increases in visits took place in regions that had a high number of continuous wildfire smoke days and among people between the ages of 5 to 17 and 18 to 64. Region 2, which includes New York State and New Jersey, had the largest increase in asthma-associated emergency department visits, the study said.

A second report, conducted by researchers from the state Department of Health, focused on New York outside of the city's five boroughs and compared the mean number of emergency department visits between June 1-5 with June 7. They found that asthma associated emergency department visits increased 81.9%, especially in the Eastern Lake Ontario, Central and Upper Hudson Valley regions. For Long Island, it was 54.9%.

Researchers said they found a “nearly threefold increase” among older children and young adults, and said there needs to be a better effort among health care providers to inform patients with asthma of risks from wildfire smoke. Children and non-Hispanic Black or African Americans disproportionately can have their asthma triggered during these events, they said, so it’s vital to make sure they are aware of the hazards of wildfire smoke.

They also recommended schools develop wildfire smoke response plans.

By Lisa L. Colangelo

lisa.colangelo@newsday.com@lisalcolangelo

Lisa joined Newsday as a staff writer in 2019. She previously worked at amNewYork, the New York Daily News and the Asbury Park Press covering politics, government and general assignment.