OBJECTIVE: To describe awareness of ambient wildfire smoke among U.S. adults with and without asthma. METHODS: We analyzed data from the summer wave of the 2021 ConsumerStyles survey, a nationally representative survey of 4,085 U.S. adults. Respondents self-reported their asthma status and awareness of wildfire smoke where they lived in the past 12 months. We linked survey responses by zip code of residence with satellite-detected wildfire smoke plume data that estimated the daily maximum smoke plume density over the preceding year. We estimated associations between asthma status and awareness of wildfire smoke across categories of maximum smoke plume density and days with medium- or heavy-density smoke as prevalence ratios (PRs) with 95% confidence intervals (CIs) using predicted marginal probabilities from logistic regression models. RESULTS: Over 98% of the estimated population of U.S. adults lived in a zip code affected by ≥1 day of medium- or heavy-density wildfire smoke, which occurred on an average of 16 days in the past year. Awareness of wildfire smoke was reported by 19% of U.S. adults and was higher among adults with than without asthma (PR: 1.25; 95% CI: 1.01, 1.55), including in zip codes affected by heavy-density smoke (PR: 1.30, 95% CI: 1.04, 1.63) and with 22 or more days of medium- to heavy-density smoke (PR: 1.22, 95% CI: 1.01, 1.47). CONCLUSIONS: Although awareness of wildfire smoke was higher among U.S. adults with than without asthma, low percentages of awareness overall indicate a need for health communication about wildfire smoke and its health risks.

Introduction: Exposure to ambient air pollution can worsen cardiovascular disease and increase the risk of stroke, myocardial infarction, and cardiovascular disease mortality. Strategies to reduce air pollution exposure can therefore help prevent cardiovascular morbidity and mortality. This study was conducted to assess the awareness among U.S. adults of the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular health and actions individuals can take to reduce their air pollution exposure. Methods: In May–July 2022, 4,156 adults responded to the summer wave of the 2022 ConsumerStyles survey and self-reported their heart disease status and perceptions, awareness, and behaviors about ambient air pollution and health. In 2023, the data were analyzed to generate weighted population estimates representative of noninstitutionalized U.S. adults. Associations between heart disease and responses about perceptions, awareness, and behaviors were estimated using binomial and multinomial regression methods for weighted data. Results: Overall, 90% of the weighted population estimate of U.S. adults reported that air pollution can impact a person's health, and 44% reported that air pollution can cause or worsen heart disease. Percentages of adults reporting that air pollution can impact a person's health (prevalence ratio=1.09; 95% CI=1.06, 1.12) and that air pollution can cause or worsen heart disease (prevalence ratio=1.28; 95% CI=1.08, 1.51) were higher among adults with than without heart disease. Conclusions: Less than half of U.S. adults are aware that air pollution affects heart disease. Improvements in awareness of the effect of air pollution on cardiovascular health and strategies to reduce exposure could help protect individuals with heart disease. © 2024

During April 30-August 4, 2023, smoke originating from wildfires in Canada affected most of the contiguous United States. CDC used National Syndromic Surveillance Program data to assess numbers and percentages of asthma-associated emergency department (ED) visits on days with wildfire smoke, compared with days without wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke days were defined as days when concentrations of particulate matter (particles generally ≤2.5 μm in aerodynamic diameter) (PM(2.5)) triggered an Air Quality Index ≥101, corresponding to the air quality categorization, "Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups." Changes in asthma-associated ED visits were assessed across U.S. Department of Health and Human Services regions and by age. Overall, asthma-associated ED visits were 17% higher than expected during the 19 days with wildfire smoke that occurred during the study period; larger increases were observed in regions that experienced higher numbers of continuous wildfire smoke days and among persons aged 5-17 and 18-64 years. These results can help guide emergency response planning and public health communication strategies, especially in U.S. regions where wildfire smoke exposure was previously uncommon.