Association between long-term exposure to particulate air pollution with SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 deaths in California, U.S.A.

English, Paul; Behren, Julie Von; Balmes, John R.; Boscardin, John; Carpenter, Catherine; Horiuchi, Sophia; Richardson, Maxwell J.; Solomon, Gina; Valle, Jhaqueline; Reynolds, Peggy

doi:10.1016/j.envadv.2022.100270

Cited by 16 publications

(21 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…Most of the published work on this topic to date, based on both ecological [6, 7, 8, 9] and individual-level studies [13, 12, 15, 17, 16, 18, 14, 20, 21, 19] found that increased air pollution concentrations were associated with worse COVID-19 outcomes. However, there were some indications that ethnicity and deprivation [15, 19], as well as comorbidities, can greatly alter the air pollution-COVID-19 disease relationship [12, 17, 16].…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Most published studies to date assessed outcomes such as severe symptoms or hospitalisation [13, 12, 15, 17, 16]. Only a small number of studies have investigated long-term air pollution and COVID-19 mortality: in Mexico city [18], California [20, 23, 24], New York city (NYC) [14], Canada [21], and England [19]. Their results were mixed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Research into air pollution and COVID-19 outcomes generally found that greater levels of pollution were associated with increased risk of severe disease and COVID-19 death. This has been shown in both ecological studies (e.g., [6, 7, 8, 9], reviewed by [10, 11], up to June 2021) and individual-level studies [12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21]. Individual-level studies can adjust well for factors such as age, sex and socio-economic status [22, 6].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…To date, few individual-level studies have analysed the effect of long-term air pollution on mortality following COVID-19 disease. These studies again found positive associations [14, 18, 20, 21, 23, 24], albeit of a smaller magnitude (≤11% increased risk), except one study, where fully adjusting for confounders removed the positive association [19].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

“…However, some of these studies included low numbers of cases [12, 14, 16, 19], some did not include a sample representative of the entire population [15, 19] or suffered from participation bias [17, 16, 19], some only investigated one pollutant [20], and some did not adjust for all of the known risk factors which include age, sex, ethnicity, deprivation and health comorbidities [13, 12, 14, 18, 21]. All of these risk factors have been shown to confound the positive relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality [25, 6, 26, 27].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis

Charlton

Gale

Morgan

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Background: The risk of COVID-19 severity and mortality differs markedly by age, socio-demographic characteristics and pre-existing health status. Various studies have suggested that higher air pollution exposures also increase the likelihood of dying from COVID-19. Objectives: To assess the association between long-term outdoor air pollution (NO2, NOx, PM10and PM2.5) concentrations and the risk of death involving COVID-19, using a large individual-level dataset. Methods: We used comprehensive individual-level data from the Office for National Statistics' Public Health Data Asset for September 2020 to January 2022 and London Air Quality Network modelled air pollution concentrations available for 2016. Using Cox proportional hazard regression models, we adjusted for potential confounders including age, sex, vaccination status, dominant virus variants, geographical factors (such as population density), ethnicity, area and household-level deprivation, and health comorbidities. Results: There were 737,356 confirmed COVID-19 cases including 9,315 COVID-related deaths. When only adjusting for age, sex, and vaccination status, there was an increased risk of dying from COVID-19 with increased exposure to all air pollutants studied (NO2: HR 1.07 [95% confidence interval: 1.04-1.12] per 10 μg /m3; NOx: 1.05[1.02-1.09] per 20 μg /m3; PM10: 1.32[1.15-1.51] per 10 μg /m3; PM2.5: 1.29[1.12-1.49] per 5 μg /m3). However, after adjustment including ethnicity and socio-economic factors the HRs were close to unity (NO2: 0.98[0.90-1.06]; NOx: 0.99[0.94-1.04]; PM10: 0.95[0.74-1.22]; PM2.5: 0.90[0.67-1.20]). Additional adjustment for dominant variant or pre-existing health comorbidities did not alter the results. Conclusions: Observed associations between long-term outdoor air pollution exposure and COVID-19 mortality in London are strongly confounded by geography, ethnicity and deprivation.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 95%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 3 more Smart Citations

Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis

Charlton

Gale

Morgan

et al. 2023

Preprint

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Linkages between COVID-19, solar UV radiation, and the Montreal Protocol

Bernhard

Madronich

Lucas

et al. 2023

Photochem Photobiol Sci

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There are several connections between coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), solar UV radiation, and the Montreal Protocol. Exposure to ambient solar UV radiation inactivates SARS-CoV-2, the virus responsible for COVID-19. An action spectrum describing the wavelength dependence of the inactivation of SARS-CoV-2 by UV and visible radiation has recently been published. In contrast to action spectra that have been assumed in the past for estimating the effect of UV radiation on SARS-CoV-2, the new action spectrum has a large sensitivity in the UV-A (315–400 nm) range. If this “UV-A tail” is correct, solar UV radiation could be much more efficient in inactivating the virus responsible for COVID-19 than previously thought. Furthermore, the sensitivity of inactivation rates to the total column ozone would be reduced because ozone absorbs only a small amount of UV-A radiation. Using solar simulators, the times for inactivating SARS-CoV-2 have been determined by several groups; however, many measurements are affected by poorly defined experimental setups. The most reliable data suggest that 90% of viral particles embedded in saliva are inactivated within ~ 7 min by solar radiation for a solar zenith angle (SZA) of 16.5° and within ~ 13 min for a SZA of 63.4°. Slightly longer inactivation times were found for aerosolised virus particles. These times can become considerably longer during cloudy conditions or if virus particles are shielded from solar radiation. Many publications have provided evidence of an inverse relationship between ambient solar UV radiation and the incidence or severity of COVID-19, but the reasons for these negative correlations have not been unambiguously identified and could also be explained by confounders, such as ambient temperature, humidity, visible radiation, daylength, temporal changes in risk and disease management, and the proximity of people to other people. Meta-analyses of observational studies indicate inverse associations between serum 25-hydroxy vitamin D (25(OH)D) concentration and the risk of SARS-CoV-2 positivity or severity of COVID-19, although the quality of these studies is largely low. Mendelian randomisation studies have not found statistically significant evidence of a causal effect of 25(OH)D concentration on COVID-19 susceptibility or severity, but a potential link between vitamin D status and disease severity cannot be excluded as some randomised trials suggest that vitamin D supplementation is beneficial for people admitted to a hospital. Several studies indicate significant positive associations between air pollution and COVID-19 incidence and fatality rates. Conversely, well-established cohort studies indicate no association between long-term exposure to air pollution and infection with SARS-CoV-2. By limiting increases in UV radiation, the Montreal Protocol has also suppressed the inactivation rates of pathogens exposed to UV radiation. However, there is insufficient evidence to conclude that the expected larger inactivation rates without the Montreal Protocol would have had tangible consequences on the progress of the COVID-19 pandemic. Graphical abstract

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Long-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 severity: A cohort study in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

Hyman

Zhang

Andersen

et al. 2023

Environmental Pollution

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Association between long-term exposure to particulate air pollution with SARS-CoV-2 infections and COVID-19 deaths in California, U.S.A.

Cited by 16 publications

References 55 publications

Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis

Long-term outdoor air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in London: an individual-level analysis

Linkages between COVID-19, solar UV radiation, and the Montreal Protocol

Long-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 severity: A cohort study in Greater Manchester, United Kingdom

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