Acute effects of air pollution on mortality: A 17-year analysis in Kuwait

Achilleos, Souzana; Al-Ozairi, Ebaa; Alahmad, Barrak; Garshick, Eric; Neophytou, Andreas M.; Bouhamra, Walid; Yassin, Mohamed F.; Koutrakis, Petros

doi:10.1016/j.envint.2019.01.072

Cited by 65 publications

(35 citation statements)

References 36 publications

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“…PM 2.5 deterioration of air quality may lead to various kinds of pulmonary and cardiovascular diseases causing premature death [ 15 ]. In addition, there are several studies that indicate cities with poorer outdoor air quality have had a higher death rate in those affected by COVID-19 [ 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Domínguez-Amarillo

Fernández-Agüera

Cesteros-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

102

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During the first outbreak of the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic the population, focusing primarily on the risk of infection, was generally inattentive to the quality of indoor air. Spain, and the city of Madrid in particular, were among the world’s coronavirus hotspots. The country’s entire population was subject to a 24/7 lockdown for 45 days. This paper describes a comparative longitudinal survey of air quality in four types of housing in the city of Madrid before and during lockdown. The paper analysed indoor temperatures and variations in CO2, 2.5 μm particulate matter (PM2.5) and total volatile organic compound (TVOC) concentrations before and during lockdown. The mean daily outdoor PM2.5 concentration declined from 11.04 µg/m3 before to 7.10 µg/m3 during lockdown. Before lockdown the NO2 concentration values scored as ‘very good’ 46% of the time, compared to 90.9% during that period. Although the city’s outdoor air quality improved, during lockdown the population’s exposure to indoor pollutants was generally more acute and prolonged. Due primarily to concern over domestic energy savings, the lack of suitable ventilation and more intensive use of cleaning products and disinfectants during the covid-19 crisis, indoor pollutant levels were typically higher than compatible with healthy environments. Mean daily PM2.5 concentration rose by approximately 12% and mean TVOC concentration by 37% to 559%. The paper also puts forward a series of recommendations to improve indoor domestic environments in future pandemics and spells out urgent action to be taken around indoor air quality (IAQ) in the event of total or partial quarantining to protect residents from respiratory ailments and concomitantly enhanced susceptibility to SARS-CoV-2, as identified by international medical research.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Domínguez-Amarillo

Fernández-Agüera

Cesteros-García

et al. 2020

IJERPH

102

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“…Due to this unique demographic profile of Kuwait and the Gulf States, recent studies have demonstrated a health disparity resulting in worse health outcomes for non-Kuwaitis due to heat exposure and air pollution [15,16]. However, there is limited evidence on possible differences between Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti populations in other scenarios.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

COVID-19 clinical outcomes and nationality: results from a Nationwide registry in Kuwait

et al. 2020

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Background In light of the COVID-19 pandemic, many have flagged racial and ethnic differences in health outcomes in western countries as an urgent global public health priority. Kuwait has a unique demographic profile with two-thirds of the population consisting of non-nationals, most of which are migrant workers. We aimed to explore whether there is a significant difference in health outcomes between non-Kuwaiti and Kuwaiti patients diagnosed with COVID-19. Methods We used a prospective COVID-19 registry of all patients (symptomatic and asymptomatic) in Kuwait who tested positive from February 24th to April 20th, 2020, collected from Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah Hospital, the officially-designated COVID-19 healthcare facility in the country. We ran separate logistic regression models comparing non-Kuwaitis to Kuwaitis for death, intensive care unit (ICU) admission, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) and pneumonia. Results The first 1123 COVID-19 positive patients in Kuwait were all recruited in the study. About 26% were Kuwaitis and 73% were non-Kuwaiti. With adjustments made to age, gender, smoking and selected co-morbidities, non-Kuwaitis had two-fold increase in the odds of death or being admitted to the intensive care unit compared to Kuwaitis (OR: 2.14, 95% CI 1.12–4.32). Non-Kuwaitis had also higher odds of ARDS (OR:2.44, 95% CI 1.23–5.09) and pneumonia (OR: 2.24, 95% CI 1.27–4.12). Conclusion This is the first study to report on COVID-19 outcomes between Kuwaiti and non-Kuwaiti patients. The current pandemic may have amplified the differences of health outcomes among marginalized subpopulations. A number of socioeconomic and environmental factors could explain this health disparity. More research is needed to advance the understanding of policymakers in Kuwait in order to make urgent public health interventions.

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“…In recent years, regional military conflicts have contributed to more desertification in the area [13]. Several studies have examined the health effects of exposure to dust storms and have associated them with mortality and other outcomes [14][15][16][17]. To date, it is not well known which components of dust storms are responsible for the observed health effects.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Dust Events and Indoor Air Quality in Residential Homes in Kuwait

Yuan

Alahmad

Kang

et al. 2020

IJERPH

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Kuwait is a developed Middle Eastern country that is impacted by frequent dust storms from regional and/or remote deserts. The effectiveness of keeping homes tightly closed during these events to reduce dust exposures was assessed using indoor and outdoor particle samples at 10 residences within the metropolitan Kuwait City area. Specifically, this study compared indoor and outdoor levels of black carbon and 19 trace elements (Na, Mg, Al, Si, S, Cl, K, Ca, Ti, V, Cr, Mn, Fe, Ni, Cu, Zn, Br, Sr, and Zr) during dust and non-dust events and found that particle penetration efficiencies were lower during dust storm events (less than 20–30%) than during non-dust storm events (40–60%). Coarse particles had lower penetration efficiency compared to fine particles, which is due to differences in infiltration rates and settling velocities between these two size fractions. Our findings suggest that increasing home insulation could be an effective strategy to reduce indoor exposure to crustal particles from dust storm events in residential houses of Kuwait City.

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Acute effects of air pollution on mortality: A 17-year analysis in Kuwait

Cited by 65 publications

References 36 publications

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

Bad Air Can Also Kill: Residential Indoor Air Quality and Pollutant Exposure Risk during the COVID-19 Crisis

COVID-19 clinical outcomes and nationality: results from a Nationwide registry in Kuwait

Dust Events and Indoor Air Quality in Residential Homes in Kuwait

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