Grant: Team Grant: Lung Health - Climate, Air Quality and Lung Health

Wildfires in Canada are getting more frequent and intense, partly due to climate change. Wildfire smoke worsens air quality and threatens lung health: wildfire smoke (WFS) exposure is linked to more frequent doctor and emergency room visits, and more hospitalizations, asthma attacks and flare-ups of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). While researchers know WFS leads to short-term problems, not much is known about the health effects of WFS in the long-term, like whether it plays a role in initiating lung diseases like asthma, COPD and lung cancer. Researchers also do not know how age, sex, and genetics affect how individuals respond to WFS, or whether factors like exercise, low income, or features of where people live make a difference. Because scientists lack this knowledge, clinical and public health advice about WFS is incomplete. Not only does current advice not discuss some potential risks of WFS, it does not say whether different people are affected differently by WFS. This matters, since many people want to know what they should do when WFS is in the air. In this project, researchers will do four things to fill gaps in scientific knowledge and inform health advice about WFS. First, they will conduct new experiments and analyze available data to understand whether WFS plays a role in the development of asthma, COPD, and lung cancer over the long-term. Second, they will analyze how age, sex, genetics, exercise, and social status influence how WFS affects the lungs. Third, they will use interviews, focus groups, and a survey to understand people's values, preferences, and needs in the face of more frequent WFS. Finally, researchers will partner with patient, public, and community organizations to look at the latest evidence about WFS, evaluate current health messaging, and suggest how to make better advice. Together, researchers and partners will put knowledge into action, informing clinical and public health advice for everyone affected by WFS.