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A group of West Australian scientists say there is a direct link between air pollution from bushfire smoke and a spike in emergency room admissions that can be as far as to 200 kilometres from the fire itself.
- The study found that admissions rose by up to seven per cent within four days of exposure to a toxic particle from the smoke
- Instances of presentations for certain conditions rose at much higher rates
- The study's lead author says the danger will increase as Australia grapples with the effects of climate change
Researchers from the Department of Health and Curtin and Murdoch universities examined more than 1.5 million admissions to Perth emergency departments between 2015 and 2017.
The study's lead author Adeleh Shirangi, a senior research fellow at the Curtin School of Population Health, said the research looked specifically at the impact of tiny air pollutants known as PM2.5.
"This particulate matter is so small it can penetrate into the deepest areas of the lungs and into the bloodstream," she told ABC Radio Perth's Nadia Mitsopoulos on Friday.
According to the study, exposure to those air pollutants increased total emergency admissions by between five and seven per cent within four-day window.
Ms Shirangi said the number of admissions for cardiovascular issues in particular went up by as much as seven per cent.
The occurrence of a brief, stroke-like attack called a "transient ischemic attack" went up by 25 per cent.
The percentage of people who attended emergency departments with acute lower respiratory tract infections increased by 19 per cent within one day of exposure.
"The people that are more at risk are people aged 60 or above, people from disadvantaged socio-economic status and those with pre-existing heart and lung disease," Ms Shirangi said.
She said those affected were sometimes 100-200km away from the fire.
Ms Shirangi said the long-term health effects of low-level exposures to toxic air particles were a concern because extreme conditions in Australia were becoming more common.
"We are experiencing more extreme heat events, an increase in severe fire danger days and a more extended fire season than ever before," she said.
"A suitable face mask, such as the N95 mask – known for its use during COVID-19 – should be worn outside, or [by] those who are unavoidably exposed to bushfire smoke."
The study was published in the Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health.