Research led by the University of Washington and Kaiser Permanente Southern California sheds new light on how the 2025 Los Angeles fires affected people’s health, and how people navigated the health care system during an emergency.
Tag: Joan Casey
In mid-pregnancy, exposure to any smoke was associated with an elevated risk of preterm birth, with that risk peaking around the 21st week of gestation. In late pregnancy, elevated risk was most closely associated with exposure to high concentrations of wildfire PM2.5, above 10 micrograms per cubic meter.
An analysis of the health care records of 1.2 million Southern California residents found that higher long-term smoke exposure was associated with a significant increase in the odds that a person would be diagnosed with dementia. Exposure to non-wildfire PM2.5 also increased a person’s risk of dementia, but to a much lesser degree.
New research found that Americans already bearing the brunt of climate change and health inequities are most at risk of impact by a lengthy power outage.
A record-breaking heat wave that baked Washington state in 2021 contributed to 159 excess injury deaths, according to research led by a UW professor.