Amazon Wildfires and Respiratory Health: Impacts during the Forest Fire Season from 2009 to 2019

The Brazilian Amazon, a vital tropical region, faces escalating threats from human activities, agriculture, and climate change. This study aims to assess the relationship between forest fire occurrences, meteorological factors, and hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases in the Legal Amazon reg...

Full description

Saved in:

Bibliographic Details
Published in:	International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 21; no. 6; p. 675
Main Authors:	Ribeiro, Maura R, Lima, Marcos V M, Ilacqua, Roberto C, Savoia, Eriane J L, Alvarenga, Rogerio, Vittor, Amy Y, Raimundo, Rodrigo D, Laporta, Gabriel Z
Format:	Journal Article
Language:	English
Published:	Switzerland MDPI AG 24-05-2024 MDPI
Subjects:	Adolescent Age groups Air pollution Asthma Brazil - epidemiology Bronchitis Carbon Cattle Child Child, Preschool Chronic illnesses Climate Change Data analysis Deforestation Epidemiology Fires Forest & brush fires Forests Health care Hospitalization - statistics & numerical data Hospitals Humans Humidity Infant Infant, Newborn Land use Middle Aged Outdoor air quality Pneumonia Pollutants Precipitation Respiratory diseases Respiratory system Respiratory Tract Diseases - epidemiology Respiratory Tract Diseases - etiology Seasons Temperature Variables Wildfires Young Adult Brazil Brazilian Legal Amazon Amazon Basin epidemiological study air pollution respiratory diseases wildfires climate change patient admission
Online Access:	Get full text
Tags:	Add Tag No Tags, Be the first to tag this record!

Description
Summary:	The Brazilian Amazon, a vital tropical region, faces escalating threats from human activities, agriculture, and climate change. This study aims to assess the relationship between forest fire occurrences, meteorological factors, and hospitalizations due to respiratory diseases in the Legal Amazon region from 2009 to 2019. Employing simultaneous equation models with official data, we examined the association between deforestation-induced fires and respiratory health issues. Over the studied period, the Legal Amazon region recorded a staggering 1,438,322 wildfires, with 1,218,606 (85%) occurring during August-December, known as the forest fire season. During the forest fire season, a substantial portion (566,707) of the total 1,532,228 hospital admissions for respiratory diseases were recorded in individuals aged 0-14 years and 60 years and above. A model consisting of two sets of simultaneous equations was constructed. This model illustrates the seasonal fluctuations in meteorological conditions driving human activities associated with increased forest fires. It also represents how air quality variations impact the occurrence of respiratory diseases during forest fires. This modeling approach unveiled that drier conditions, elevated temperatures, and reduced precipitation exacerbate fire incidents, impacting hospital admissions for respiratory diseases at a rate as high as 22 hospital admissions per 1000 forest fire events during the forest fire season in the Legal Amazon, 2009-2019. This research highlights the urgent need for environmental and health policies to mitigate the effects of Amazon rainforest wildfires, stressing the interplay of deforestation, climate change, and human-induced fires on respiratory health.
Bibliography:	ObjectType-Article-1 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 ObjectType-Feature-2 content type line 23
ISSN:	1660-4601 1661-7827 1660-4601
DOI:	10.3390/ijerph21060675