Jun. 2024, ISEE-AWPC Conference 2024, Travel award winner　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Effects of Coexposure to Air Pollution from Vegetation Fires and Extreme Heat on Mortality in Upper Northern Thailand
Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Seposo, Arthit Phosri, Vera Ling Hui Phung, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kayo Ueda
Environmental Science & Technology, American Chemical Society (ACS), 28 May 2024, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author, Corresponding author]
Scientific journal

Interplay of Climate Change and Air Pollution- Projection of the under-5 mortality attributable to ambient particulate matter (PM2.5) in South Asia
Wahida Musarrat Anita, Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Tesoro Seposo, Kengo Sudo, Makiko Nakata, Toshihiko Takemura, Hirohisa Takano, Taku Fujiwara, Kayo Ueda
Environmental Research, May 2024
Scientific journal

Association between extreme rainfall and acute respiratory infection among children under-5 years in sub-Saharan Africa: an analysis of Demographic and Health Survey data, 2006–2020
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Seposo, Joel Msafiri Francis
BMJ Open, Apr. 2023, [Peer-reviewed], [Lead author, Corresponding author]
English, Scientific journal

Association between Long-Term Ambient PM2.5 Exposure and under-5 Mortality: A Scoping Review
Wahida Musarrat Anita, Kayo Ueda, Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Tesoro Seposo, Hirohisa Takano
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 20, 13 Feb. 2023, [Peer-reviewed]
English, Scientific journal

Estimation of hospital visits for respiratory diseases attributable to PM10 from vegetation fire smoke and health impacts of regulatory intervention in Upper Northern Thailand
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
Scientific Reports, 12, 1, Springer Science and Business Media {LLC}, 02 Nov. 2022, [Lead author, Corresponding author]
English, Scientific journal, Abstract

The air quality in Upper Northern Thailand (UNT) deteriorates during seasonal vegetation fire events, causing adverse effects especially on respiratory health outcomes. This study aimed to quantitatively estimate respiratory morbidity from vegetation fire smoke exposure, and to assess the impact of a burning ban enforced in 2016 on morbidity burden in UNT. We computed daily population exposure to fire-originated PM₁₀ and estimated its health burden during a 5-year period from 2014 to 2018 using daily fire-originated PM₁₀ concentration and the concentration–response function for short-term exposure to PM₁₀ from vegetation fire smoke and respiratory morbidity. In subgroups classified as children and older adults, the health burden of respiratory morbidity was estimated using specific effect coefficients from previous studies conducted in UNT. Finally, we compared the health burden of respiratory morbidity before and after burning ban enforcement. Approximately 130,000 hospital visits for respiratory diseases were estimated to be attributable to fire-originated PM₁₀ in UNT from 2014 to 2018. This estimation accounted for 1.3% of total hospital visits for respiratory diseases during the 5-year period, and 20% of those during burning events. Age-specific estimates revealed a larger impact of PM₁₀ in the older adult group. The number of hospital visits for respiratory diseases attributable to fire-originated PM₁₀ decreased from 1.8% to 0.5% after the burning ban policy was implemented in the area. Our findings suggest that PM₁₀ released from vegetation fires is a health burden in UNT. The prohibition of the burning using regulatory measure had a positive impact on respiratory morbidity in this area.

A scoping review on the health effects of smoke haze from vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia: Issues with study approaches and interpretation
Vera Ling Hui Phung, Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Nina Yulianti, Mohd Talib Latif, Daisuke Naito
PLOS ONE, 17, 9, e0274433, e0274433, Public Library of Science (PLoS), 15 Sep. 2022, [Peer-reviewed]
Scientific journal, Smoke haze due to vegetation and peatland fires in Southeast Asia is a serious public health concern. Several approaches have been applied in previous studies; however, the concepts and interpretations of these approaches are poorly understood. In this scoping review, we addressed issues related to the application of epidemiology (EPI), health burden estimation (HBE), and health risk assessment (HRA) approaches, and discussed the interpretation of findings, and current research gaps. Most studies reported an air quality index exceeding the ‘unhealthy’ level, especially during smoke haze periods. Although smoke haze is a regional issue in Southeast Asia, studies on its related health effects have only been reported from several countries in the region. Each approach revealed increased health effects in a distinct manner: EPI studies reported excess mortality and morbidity during smoke haze compared to non-smoke haze periods; HBE studies estimated approximately 100,000 deaths attributable to smoke haze in the entire Southeast Asia considering all-cause mortality and all age groups, which ranged from 1,064–260,000 for specified mortality cause, age group, study area, and study period; HRA studies quantified potential lifetime cancer and non-cancer risks due to exposure to smoke-related chemicals. Currently, there is a lack of interconnection between these three approaches. The EPI approach requires extensive effort to investigate lifetime health effects, whereas the HRA approach needs to clarify the assumptions in exposure assessments to estimate lifetime health risks. The HBE approach allows the presentation of health impact in different scenarios, however, the risk functions used are derived from EPI studies from other regions. Two recent studies applied a combination of the EPI and HBE approaches to address uncertainty issues due to the selection of risk functions. In conclusion, all approaches revealed potential health risks due to smoke haze. Nonetheless, future studies should consider comparable exposure assessments to allow the integration of the three approaches.

Effect of a vegetation fire event ban on hospital visits for respiratory diseases in Upper Northern Thailand
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Tesoro Seposo, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
International Journal of Epidemiology, Oxford University Press (OUP), 04 Feb. 2022, [Peer-reviewed], [Corresponding author]
Scientific journal,


Upper Northern Thailand (UNT) has been episodically affected by air pollution from vegetation burning, which causes adverse respiratory health effects. However, no study has evaluated the effect of regulatory actions to prohibit vegetation burning on respiratory morbidity. We examined the effect of a burning ban enforced in May 2016 on hospital visits for respiratory diseases in UNT.





This study used data from eight provinces in UNT. Analyses were conducted for January to April of 2014–2016 (before ban enforcement) and January to April of 2017–2018 (after ban enforcement). Particulate matter of 10 microns in diameter or smaller (PM10) concentrations, numbers of satellite fire hotspots and age-standardized rates of hospital visits for respiratory diseases before and after ban enforcement were compared. The effect of the ban on hospital visits for respiratory diseases was evaluated using an interrupted time-series analysis controlled for season-specific temporal trends, day of week, public holiday, temperature, relative humidity, number of hospitals and offset population, with gastrointestinal diseases as a negative control. A meta-analysis was performed to pool province-specific effect estimates.





The daily average PM10 concentration and the number of fire hotspots decreased after ban enforcement in all provinces in UNT, with percent changes ranging from 5.3 to 34.3% and 14.3 to 81.5%, respectively. The adjusted pooled effect estimates of hospital visits for respiratory diseases decreased by 9.1% (95% CI: 5.1, 12.9), whereas a null association was observed for gastrointestinal diseases.





The burning ban had a positive impact on both air pollution levels and rates of hospital visits for respiratory diseases in UNT.

Association between PM10 from vegetation fire events and hospital visits by children in upper northern Thailand
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Kei Oyoshi, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
Science of The Total Environment, 764, 142923, 142923, Elsevier BV, Apr. 2021, [Peer-reviewed]
English, Scientific journal, Few studies have focused on the effects of exposure to air pollutants from vegetation fire events (including forest fire and the burning of crop residues) among children. In this study we aimed to investigate the association between PM₁₀ concentrations and hospital visits by children to address respiratory disease, conjunctivitis, and dermatitis. We examined and compared these associations by the presence of vegetation fire events on a given day (burning, non-burning, and mixed) across the upper northern region of Thailand from 2014 through 2018. A vegetation burning was defined when a fire hotspot (obtained from NASA-MODIS) exceeded the 90th percentile of the entire region and PM₁₀ concentration was over 100 μg/m³. To determine the association between hospital visits among children with PM₁₀ concentrations on burning and non-burning days, we performed a time-stratified case-crossover analysis fitted with conditional logistic regression for each province. A random-effects meta-analysis was applied to pool province-specific effect estimates. The number of burning days ranged from 64 to 139 days across eight provinces. A 10 μg/m³ increase in PM₁₀ concentration on a burning day was associated with a respiratory disease-related hospital visit at lag 0 (OR = 1.01 (95% CIs: 1.00, 1.02)). This association was not observed for hospital visits related to conjunctivitis and dermatitis. A positive association was also observed between PM₁₀ concentration on non-burning days and hospital visits related to respiratory disease at lag 0 (OR = 1.03 (95% CIs: 1.02, 1.04)). Hospital visits for conjunctivitis and dermatitis were significantly associated with PM₁₀ concentration at lag 0 on both non-burning and mixed days.

Global Environmental Research: Air pollution from vegetation fire and its health effects in Asia　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Association of International Research Initiatives for Environmental Studies (AIRIES), Mar. 2024, [Joint work]

The effects of policies and measures for vegetation fire events on air pollution and human health in Thailand: A scoping review and data integration
Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Seposo, Arthit Phosri, Vera Ling Hui Phung, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kayo Ueda
AGU24 annual meeting, 12 Dec. 2024, English, Poster presentation
42543258

Effects of Rainfall on Ambulance Onsite Arrival Times in Japan　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Seposo, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Asuna Arai, Kayo Ueda
ISEE-AWPC AND ISES-AC 2024, 26 Jun. 2024, English, Oral presentation

Effects of co-exposure to air pollution from vegetation fires and extreme heat on mortality in Upper Northern Thailand　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Xerxes Seposo, Arthit Phosri, Vera Ling Hui Phung, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kayo Ueda
The 34rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japan Epidemiological Association, 01 Feb. 2024, English

Short-term exposure to PM2.5 from vegetation fire events and mortality in Upper Northern Thailand
Athicha Uttajug, Xerses Teroso Seposo, Arthit Phosri, Vera Ling Hui Phung, Muhammad Abdul Basit Ahmad Tajudin, Kayo Ueda
The 35th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE 2022), 19 Sep. 2023, English, Poster presentation
42543258

Association between extreme rainfall and acute respiratory infection in sub-Saharan Africa　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Seposo, Joel Msafiri Francis
The 93rd Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society for Hygiene, 04 Mar. 2023, English, Oral presentation

Temperature and emergency ambulance dispatch in Japan: Effect modifications by city-characteristics　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Seposo, Junichi Susaki, Yusuke Kimura, Masahiro Hashizume, Chris FS Ng
The 33rd Annual Scientific Meeting of the Japan Epidemiological Association, 03 Feb. 2023, English, Poster presentation
01 Feb. 2023 - 03 Feb. 2023

Diarrhea in children under 5 years and extreme precipitation in Nigeria　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Tesoro Seposo, Joel Msafiri Francis
The 34th Annual Conference of the International Society for Environmental Epidemiology (ISEE 2022), 19 Sep. 2022, English, Oral presentation

Drought and diarrhea among under-5 years children in India　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Xerxes Tesoro Seposo
ISEE-AWPC & ISEE-AC Joint Conference, 20 Jun. 2022, English, Oral presentation

Air pollutants from vegetation fire events and respiratory diseases in Phayao, Thailand　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
第32回日本疫学会学術総会 運営事務局, 28 Jan. 2022, English, Oral presentation
26 Jan. 2022 - 28 Jan. 2022

Assessment of respiratory morbidity burden from exposure to vegetation fire-PM2.5 in Upper Northern Thailand for the year 2018　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
ISEE 21 New York City, 26 Aug. 2021, English, Poster presentation
23 Aug. 2021 - 26 Aug. 2021

Effect of a prohibited vegetation fire events on hospital visits for respiratory diseases in Chiang Rai province, Thailand　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
Athicha Uttajug, Kayo Ueda, Akiko Honda, Hirohisa Takano
第91回日本衛生学会学術総会, English, Oral presentation
26 Mar. 2020 - 28 Mar. 2020

Acute effect of particle compositions on emergency ambulance dispatches in Osaka, Japan　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　
ISEE-ISES AC, Daegu, Korea, 2019, English, Poster presentation

2023 - Present
Japanese Epidemiology Assocition　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

2021 - Present
International Society for Environmental Epidemiology　　　　　　　　　　　　　　　

Air pollution from vegetation fires and adverse health effects
科学研究費助成事業 研究活動スタート支援
Aug. 2022 - Mar. 2024
アタッチャ アティーシャ
日本学術振興会, 研究活動スタート支援, 北海道大学, 22K21197