Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41352315›Full record

ArticleInternational journal of hygiene and environmental health2026

Changes in lung function and fractional exhaled nitric oxide across wildfire seasons in the wildland firefighter exposure and health effect (WFFEHE) study.

Chieh-Ming Wu, Kathleen Clark, Olorunfemi Adetona, Kathleen Navarro DuBose, Corey Butler, Alejandra Ramirez-Cardenas, James Odei, Molly West, Christa Hale

Abstract read
PubMed Full text at PMC Publisher
In one paragraph

Article in International journal of hygiene and environmental health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed.

  1. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

9 authors.

Chieh-Ming WuDivision of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Kathleen ClarkNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Morgantown, WV, USA.
Olorunfemi AdetonaDivision of Environmental Health Sciences, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA. Electronic address: adetona.1@osu.edu.
Kathleen Navarro DuBoseNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Denver, CO, USA; United States Department of the Interior, Office of Wildland Fire, Denver, CO, USA.
Corey ButlerNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Denver, CO, USA; United States Department of the Interior, Office of Occupational Safety and Health, Denver, CO, USA.
Alejandra Ramirez-CardenasNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Denver, CO, USA.
James OdeiDivision of Biostatistics, College of Public Health, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH, USA.
Molly WestUS Forest Service, Missoula, MT, USA.
Christa HaleNational Institute for Occupational Safety and Health, Denver, CO, USA.

Funding

Intramural CDC HHS CC999999
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

introductionLong-term pulmonary effects of wildland firefighting are unclear even though lung function declines have been observed following wildfire season and firefighting shift.

methodsSpirometry and airway inflammation indicated as fractional exhaled nitric oxide (FeNO) were measured among 152 wildland firefighters (WFFs) at the beginning (pre-season, April & May) and end (post-season, September & October) of the 2018 and/or 2019 wildfire seasons and among 19 WFFs at across 3 days of firefighting during a 2019 mid-season wildfire deployment.

resultsOverall peak expiratory flow (PEF) and percent of predicted PEF (PEF%) significantly decreased across fire season when 2018 and 2019 measurements were combined (-0.15 ± 0.07 L/s, p = 0.04; -1.87 ± 0.71%, p = 0.01; respectively), more so due to 2018 declines. PEF% and percent of predicted forced vital capacity (FVC%) significantly improved between 2018 post-season and 2019 pre-season (i.e., off-season) (3.08 ± 1.26%, p = 0.02; 0.99 ± 0.41%, p = 0.02; respectively). FVC and FVC% significantly decreased across a firefighting shift on the first day of wildfire deployment (-0.12 ± 0.03 L, p < 0.01; -2.35 ± 0.64%, p < 0.01). FeNO significantly decreased across the 2018 and 2019 fire seasons (p < 0.01) and significantly increased during the off-season (p < 0.01). FeNO also showed statistically significant cross-shift decreases on the second day of wildfire deployment (-3.50 ± 0.95 ppm, p < 0.01).

conclusionsSeasonal wildland firefighting were associated with decreases in lung function and FeNO as well as increases in respiratory symptom score in this cohort. While lung function recovered during the off-season among the WFFs, the results suggest a need for longer-term studies to determine the impact of chronic wildland firefighting on pulmonary health.

Indexed as

FirefightersLungNitric OxideOccupational ExposureWildfiresAdultFemaleFiresFractional Exhaled Nitric Oxide TestingHumansMaleMiddle AgedSeasonsSpirometryNitric OxideAirway inflammationFractional exhaled nitric oxideLung functionSpirometryWildland firefighter

Identifiers

PMID41352315
PMCPMC13023360

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Registered trials

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.