NIH Reporter #1P01HL179398-01A1

Effects of Social Vulnerability and Psychosocial Stress on Wildfire Exposures-Induced Onset and Severity of Inflammatory Airway and Cardiovascular Disease

This NIH-funded project investigates how psychosocial stress modifies the impact of wildfire smoke exposure on lung function and cardiovascular disease progression in COPD patients, using human subjects and mouse models to understand underlying mechanisms.

Description

Project 4, in collaboration with the four cores and three other projects of the proposed UC Davis Wildfire Exposure: Cardiovascular and Airway Inflammation Research (WE-CAIR) Program, establishes the significance of stress in modifying the relationship between wildfire exposure, and lung function and cardiovascular pathologies. Wildfire exposures are a growing public health concern due to their increasing frequency and severity. While stress may significantly compound wildfire smoke effects, the cellular and molecular mechanisms of these effects remain poorly understood. WE-CAIR Project 4 focuses on the modifying role of stress and seeks to identify how stress affects lung function and cardiovascular events in chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) residents.

View original record