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Cited by 71Air Quality and Health ImpactsClimate Change and Health ImpactsFire effects on ecosystems

Respiratory and mental health effects of wildfires: an ecological study in Galician municipalities (north-west Spain)

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Caamano-Isorna, Francisco, Figueiras, Adolfo, Sastre, Isabel, Montes-Martínez, Agustín, Taracido,, Margarita, Piñeiro-Lamas, María·2011·Environmental Health
DOI 10.1186/1476-069x-10-48PMC PMC3224540
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Abstract

BACKGROUND: During the summer of 2006, a wave of wildfires struck Galicia (north-west Spain), giving rise to a disaster situation in which a great deal of the territory was destroyed. Unlike other occasions, the wildfires in this case also threatened farms, houses and even human lives, with the result that the perception of disaster and helplessness was the most acute experienced in recent years. This study sought to analyse the respiratory and mental health effects of the August-2006 fires, using consumption of anxiolytics-hypnotics and drugs for obstructive airway diseases as indicators. METHODS: We conducted an analytical, ecological geographical- and temporal-cluster study, using municipality-month as the study unit. The independent variable was exposure to wildfires in August 2006, with municipalities thus being classified into the following three categories: no exposure; medium exposure; and high exposure. Dependent variables were: (1) anxiolytics-hypnotics; and (2) drugs for obstructive airway diseases consumption. These variables were calculated for the two 12-month periods before and after August 2006. Additive models for time series were used for statistical analysis purposes. RESULTS: The results revealed a higher consumption of drugs for obstructive airway diseases among pensioners during the months following the wildfires, in municipalities affected versus those unaffected by fire. In terms of consumption of anxiolytics-hypnotics, the results showed a significant increase among men among men overall -pensioners and non-pensioners- in fire-affected municipalities. CONCLUSIONS: Our study indicates that wildfires have a significant effect on population health. The coherence of these results suggests that drug utilisation research is a useful tool for studying morbidity associated with environmental incidents.

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  • Even when wildfire is not a direct threat to life, associated wildfire smoke events take physical, psychological, and economic tolls on residents.

    “Even when wildfire is not a direct threat to life, associated wildfire smoke (WFS) events take physical, psychological, and economic tolls on residents [2, 5].”

    From What can we do when the smoke rolls in? An exploratory qualitative analysis of the impacts of rural wildfire smoke on mental health and wellbeing, and opportunities for adaptation (2022) · cites this paper as [5]

    The Abstract Results and Discussion report increased use of respiratory and anxiolytic medications after wildfires, supporting physical and psychological health effects. The paper does not establish an economic toll on residents or specifically show that these effects occur when fire poses no direct threat to life. No page numbers are provided in our copy. (LLM, conf=0.87)

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1 of the 45 references couldn’t be matched to a known paper.

Research works printed but not linked: 4

  1. WHO Air quality guidelines for particulate matter, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and sulfur dioxide 2005 http://whqlibdoc.who.int/hq/2006/WHO_SDE_PHE_OEH_06.02_eng.pdf Accessed 10 May 2011 34662007
  2. Rossi A Stratta P Allegrini F Changes in prescription of psychotropics after an earthquake in Italy Psychiatr Serv 2010 61 845 846 20675847
  3. Montero I Aparicio D Gómez-Beneyto M Moreno-Küstner B Reneses B Usall J Gender and mental health in a changing world Gac Sanit 2004 18 Suppl 1 175 181 15171876
  4. Escrivá Ferrairó R Pérez Díez A Lumbreras García C Molina París J Sanz Cuesta T Corral Sánchez MA Benzodiazepine prescription at a health center: prevalence, its use and user characteristics Aten Primaria 2000 25 97 100 PMC7675919 10736941

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Authors
Caamano-Isorna, F., Figueiras, A., Sastre, I., Montes-Martínez, A., Taracido, & Piñeiro-Lamas, M.
Affiliations
Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (ES)
ORCID
Figueiras, Adolfo
Venue
Environmental Health
Publisher
Springer Science and Business Media LLC
Published
2011-05-21
Volume
10
Issue
1
Pages
48-48
ISSN
1476-069X (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1186/1476-069x-10-48
PMC
PMC3224540
OpenAlex
W2126516180
Cited by
71
References
45
Citations by year
2026: 3 · 2025: 9 · 2024: 2 · 2023: 6 · 2022: 11 · 2021: 8 · 2019: 3 · 2018: 2 · 2017: 6 · 2016: 3 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 5 · 2013: 5 · 2012: 3
FWCI
3.01
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
Locations
  • Environmental Health (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
  • LA Referencia (Red Federada de Repositorios Institucionales de Publicaciones Científicas) (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • DOAJ (DOAJ: Directory of Open Access Journals) (submittedVersion)
  • Hispana (submittedVersion, cc-by)
  • Repositorio institucional da Universidade de Santiago de Compostela (University of Santiago de Compostela) (submittedVersion, other-oa)
Funders
  • AstraZeneca
  • Xunta de Galicia
Topics
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Air Quality and Health Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Health, Toxicology and Mutagenesis › Climate Change and Health Impacts
  • Physical Sciences › Environmental Science › Global and Planetary Change › Fire effects on ecosystems
Keywords
forest fires, respiratory health, mental health, obstructive airway disease, drug use, drug utilisation, disaster exposure, retirees, sex differences
MeSH terms
Adult, Aged, Mental Disorders, Depression, Disasters, Drug Utilization, Female, Fires, Humans, Hypnotics and Sedatives, Lung Diseases, Obstructive, Male, Spain, Stress Disorders, Post-Traumatic, Anti-Anxiety Agents, Respiratory System Agents

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