Association between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality and morbidity

Abstract

Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic is affecting the world unevenly. One of the highest numbers of cases were recorded in the most polluted regions worldwide. The risk factors for severe COVID-19 include diabetes, cardiovascular, and respiratory diseases. It has been known that the same disease might be worsened by chronic exposure to air pollution. The study aimed to determine whether long-term average exposure to air pollution is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 cases and deaths in Poland. The cumulative number of COVID-19 cases and deaths for each voivodeship (the main administrative level of jurisdictions) in Poland were collected from March 4, 2020, to May 15, 2020. Based on the official data published by Chief Inspectorate of Environmental Protection voivodeship-level long-term exposure to main air pollution: PM2.5, PM10, NO2, SO2, O3 (averaged from 2013 to 2018) was established. There were statistically significant correlation between COVID-19 cases (per 100,000 population) and annual average concentration of PM2.5 (R2 = 0.367, p = 0.016), PM10 (R2 = 0.415, p = 0.009), SO2 (R2 = 0.489, p = 0.003), and O3 (R2 = 0.537, p = 0.0018). Moreover, COVID-19 deaths (per 100,000 population) were associated with annual average concentration of PM2.5 (R2 = 0.290, p = 0.038), NO2 (R2 = 0.319, p = 0.028), O3 (R2 = 0.452, p = 0.006). The long-term exposure to air pollution, especially PM2.5, PM10, SO2, NO2, O3 seems to play an essential role in COVID-19 prevalence and mortality. Long-term exposure to air pollution might increase the susceptibility to the infection, exacerbates the severity of SARS-CoV-2 infections, and worsens the patients’ prognosis. The study provides generalized and possible universal trends. Detailed analyzes of the phenomenon dedicated to a given region require taking into account data on comorbidities and socioeconomic variables as well as information about the long-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 cases and deaths at smaller administrative level of jurisdictions (community or at least district level).

Impact of Different Air Pollutants (PM10, PM2.5, NO2, and Bacterial Aerosols) on COVID-19 Cases in Gliwice, Southern Poland

“…Figure 2 and Figure 3 present the similarity in the daily course of PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels and DNCs during the winter season (from November 2020 to February 2021). The plots are consistent with other results showing a relationship between higher air pollution levels and COVID-19 cases [ 4 , 7 , 16 , 42 ].…”

“…Poland is a country with one of the largest air pollution problems in the European Union (EU). The Silesia voivodeship is the most polluted region in Poland, a country with 36 cities in a ranking of the 50 most polluted cities in the EU [ 4 ]. It has been estimated that, due to exposure to air pollution, the life expectancy of the average Polish citizen is shortened by around nine months, and 48,000 people die prematurely every year due to air pollution [ 5 ].…”

Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome and Particulate Matter Exposure: A Systematic Review

“…After removing duplicates, N = 732 were assessed for inclusion (abstract and title review). Finally, 46 original research articles were considered eligible [ 25 , 30 , 31 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 36 , 37 , 38 , 39 , 40 , 41 , 42 , 43 , 44 , 45 , 46 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 , 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 , 72 , 73 , 74 ] Table 1 . Data from screening and extraction is available ( Supplementary Tables S1–S3 ).…”

The association of airborne particulate matter and benzo[a]pyrene with the clinical course of COVID-19 in patients hospitalized in Poland

“…Nevertheless, odds of death were increased in patients exposed to a high level of PM 2.5 and B(a)P levels. The link between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality has been explored and documented in various previous studies using population-based data and long-term air pollution monitoring results ( Comunian et al, 2020 ; Dettori et al, 2021 ; Mendy et al, 2021 ; Semczuk-Kaczmarek et al, 2021 ; Wu et al, 2020 ). As estimated, air pollution contributed 15% to global COVID-19 mortality ( Pozzer et al, 2020 ).…”