Exposure to wildfires and health outcomes of vulnerable people: evidence from US data

This paper investigates the causal effect of wildfire exposure on birth outcomes and older people’s health outcomes in United States (US). The study focuses on three sub-questions for each health outcome: (1) the causal effect of each of the five largest wildfires on individual health, (2) the causal impact of multiple large wildfires on individual health outcomes, and (3) the causal influence of wildfires larger than different sizes within different distances of counties on health outcomes at the county level. The analysis exploits data from National Vital Statistics System, Behavioural Risk Factor Surveillance System and FIRESTAT. In terms of birth outcomes, the findings show that the largest wildfire slightly increased the risk of other circulatory or respiratory anomalies. Multiple large wildfires moderately raised the risk of prematurity and led to a small decline in the probability of getting omphalocele and cleft lip. The county-level analysis suggests an increased risk of macrosomia following maternal exposure to wildfires. As for the elderly aged 65 + , the results indicate that exposure to multiple massive wildfires led to frequent occurrence of asthma symptoms, while the largest wildfire led to sleeping difficulty caused by asthma symptoms. The number of days older people experienced psychological problems was increased following exposure to multiple large wildfires.

Birth outcomes, Causal inference, Health outcomes, Older people, Wildfire exposure

10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101311

Zheng, Jiyuan

3bb651b5-c602-4e80-9b53-6793b8b9f20d

December 2023

Zheng, Jiyuan

3bb651b5-c602-4e80-9b53-6793b8b9f20d

Zheng, Jiyuan (2023) Exposure to wildfires and health outcomes of vulnerable people: evidence from US data. Economics and Human Biology, 51, [101311]. (doi:10.1016/j.ehb.2023.101311).