Table 3.
Proportion of surveyed ACT region residents that experienced health-related symptoms attributed to bushfire smoke during the 2019–20 bushfire season.
| Number experiencing the symptom n (%) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Symptom | All | Male | Female |
| n = 2,084 | n = 832 | n = 1,231 | |
| Physical symptoms | |||
| Eye irritation or watery eyes | 1,525 (73.1) | 544 (65.3) | 967 (78.6) |
| Throat irritation or dry throat | 1,469 (70.4) | 506 (60.8) | 950 (77.2) |
| Cough | 1,056 (50.6) | 346 (41.5) | 702 (57.0) |
| Headache | 797 (38.2) | 184 (22.1) | 607 (49.3) |
| Breathlessness | 457 (21.9) | 126 (15.0) | 326 (26.5) |
| Sneezing | 437 (21.0) | 153 (18.4) | 278 (22.6) |
| Wheeze or whistling chest | 416 (19.9) | 103 (12.3) | 307 (24.9) |
| Chest tightness or pain | 314 (15.1) | 71 (8.5) | 242 (19.7) |
| Diarrhea or gastroenterological symptoms | 51 (2.4) | 6 (0.7) | 44 (3.6) |
| Other condition not listed | 67 (3.2) | 19 (2.3) | 47 (3.8) |
| Mental health symptoms | |||
| Anxiety | 945 (45.3) | 265 (31.9) | 670 (54.4) |
| Depression | 447 (21.4) | 129 (15.5) | 314 (25.5) |
| Sleep-related symptoms | |||
| Disrupted or poor sleep | 776 (37.2) | 234 (28.1) | 535 (43.5) |
| Fatigue or feeling tired | 677 (32.5) | 187 (22.5) | 482 (39.2) |
Difference between gender P < 0.001 for all other than sneeze P = 0.022, and other P = 0.05.