Yu Yu

Summary: Many studies have investigated the association between various health outcomes from PM_2.5 (particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter smaller than 2.5 μm) exposure, but there are still uncertainties on the full extent of the acute health impact of short-term PM exposure such as work loss due to sickness (i.e., headache) that was not severe enough to warrant admission to an emergency or hospital; thus, it could not be fully incorporated into the calculation of air pollution exposure-associated health and economic cost.

In this study, authors evaluated the health and economic impacts of work loss due to sickness associated with daily all-source and wildfire-specific PM_2.5 exposures in California. They linked the 2015–2018 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) respondents’ geocoded home addresses to daily PM_2.5 estimated by satellites and atmospheric modelling simulations and wildfire-related PM_2.5 from Community Multiscale Air Quality models, and calculated and applied the coefficient for the association between daily PM_2.5 exposure and work loss from regression analyses to the Environmental Benefits Mapping and Analysis Program—Community Edition (BenMAP-CE) platform.

Findings: Authors observed that each 1 µg/m3 increase in daily total PM_2.5 exposure will lead to about 1 million days of work loss per year ranging from 1.1 to 1.6 million person-days, and the related economic loss was $310–390 million. Wildfire smoke alone could contribute to 0.7–2.6 million work-loss days with a related economic loss of $129–521 million per year in 2015–2018. Using the function coefficient in the current BenMAP, the excess work-loss days due to sickness was about 250,00 days and the estimated economic loss was about $45–50 million for each 1 µg/m3 increase in daily total PM_2.5 exposure, and wildfire smoke alone would lead to 0.17–0.67 million work-loss days with related economic loss of $31–128 million per year during the same period.

Both conventional and wildfire-specific sources of PM_2.5 produced substantial work loss and cost in California. Authors state that updating the current BenMAP-CE calculations for work-loss days will be essential in quantifying the current health impacts of PM_2.5 to help inform the policies and regulations to protect public health.

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• Journal Article: Health and Economic Cost Estimates of Short-Term Total and Wildfire PM_2.5 Exposure on Work Loss: Using the Consecutive California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) Data 2015–2018

Summary: While California as a whole has made significant progress over the past three decades in reducing rates of cigarette smoking, progress across communities in the state has been uneven. Using the 2014–2019 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) combined adult data and existing state, county, and city tobacco control policies and neighborhood-level data on social drivers of health, this brief examines variations in local tobacco policies and their relationship with smoking behaviors, particularly among priority populations disproportionately impacted by tobacco.

Findings: In 2019, more than 60% of California cities still had weak or no local tobacco policies. Inequities in protection by tobacco control policies persist across priority populations, especially in areas with low neighborhood socioeconomic status (NSES). Reductions in adult cigarette smoking were greater in cities with strong local tobacco policies than in those with weak or no policies. Strong local policies were also associated with decreased smoking rates among adult (18+) populations disproportionately impacted by the tobacco epidemic, thereby reducing social inequalities in cigarette smoking. This study also found that the positive effect of local tobacco control policies on current adult smoking rates was further enhanced when the state-level tobacco policy (i.e., raising the tax from $0.87 to $2.87 per pack) was enacted in April 2017. 

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• Policy Brief: State and Local Tobacco Control Policies Are Associated with Decreasing Cigarette Smoking Rates and Disparities
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Summary: Prior studies suggested that air pollution exposure may increase the risk of Parkinson's Disease (PD). Researchers investigated the long-term impacts of traffic-related and multiple sources of particulate air pollution on PD in central California. They assessed exposure at residential and occupational locations from 1981 to 2016, estimating annual average carbon monoxide (CO) concentrations, a traffic pollution marker.

Findings: Authors found that long-term modeled exposure to local traffic-related air pollution (CO) and fine particulates from multiple sources (PM_2.5) at homes and workplaces in central California was associated with an increased risk of PD.

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• Journal Article: Traffic-Related Air Pollution and Parkinson's Disease in Central California

Summary: Authors aimed to study the association of short-term daily total particulate matter (PM_2.5) exposure with work loss due to sickness among adults living in California. They used 2015 to 2018 California Health Interview Survey (CHIS) data on adults in the workforce living in California. Daily total PM_2.5 concentrations were linked to respondents’ home addresses from continuous spatial surfaces of PM_2.5 generated by a geostatistical surfacing algorithm.

Findings: This is one of the few papers that suggest that short-term ambient PM_2.5 exposure is positively associated with work loss due to sickness and the association was stronger among those with higher wildfire smoke exposure. It also indicated that the current federal and state PM_2.5 standards (annual average of 12 μg/m3) could be further strengthened to protect the health of the citizens of California.

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• Journal Article: Short-Term Total and Wildfire Fine Particulate Matter Exposure and Work Loss in California