Exposure to wildfire-related PM < sub > 2.5 < /sub > and site-specific cancer mortality in Brazil from 2010 to 2016: A retrospective study

This study evaluates the association between wildfire-related PM2.5 and site-specific cancer mortality in Brazil, from 2010 to 2016. Methods and findingsNationwide cancer death records were collected during 2010 –2016 from the Brazilian Mortality Information System. Death records were linked with municipal-level wildfire- and non-wildfire-related PM2.5 concentrations, at a resolution of 2.0 ° latitude by 2.5° longitude. We applied a variant difference-in-differences approach with quasi-Poisson regression, adjusting for seasonal temperature and gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. Relative risks (RRs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) for the exposure for specific cancer sites we re estimated. Attributable fractions and cancer deaths were also calculated. In total, 1,332,526 adult cancer deaths (age ≥ 20 years), from 5,565 Brazilian municipalities, covering 136 million adults were included. The mean annual wildfire-related PM2.5 concentration was 2.38 μg/m3, and the annual non-wildfire-related PM2.5 concentration was 8.20 μg/m3. The RR for mortality from all cancers was 1.02 (95% CI 1.01 –1.03,p
Source: PLoS Medicine - Category: Internal Medicine Authors: Source Type: research