Air pollution and COVID-19 mortality and hospitalization: An ecological study in Iran

Atmospheric Pollution Research

article

Behrooz Karimi¹  Rahmatollah Moradzadeh²  Sadegh Samadi³ 

[1] Department of Environmental Health Engineering, Health Faculty, Arak University of Medical Sciences;Department of Epidemiology, Health Faculty, Arak University of Medical Sciences;Department of Occupational Health and Safety Engineering, Health Faculty, Arak University of Medical Sciences

关键词: Air pollution;    Coronavirus;    Hospitalization;    Mortality;    PM 10 and PM 2.5;    SO 2;   

DOI  :  10.1016/j.apr.2022.101463

学科分类：农业科学（综合）

来源: Dokuz Eylul Universitesi * Department of Environmental Engineering

【 摘 要 】

Exposure to air pollution can exacerbate the severe COVID-19 conditions, subsequently causing an increase in the death rate. In this study, we investigated the association between long-term exposure to air pollution and risks of COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality in Arak, Iran. Air pollution data was obtained from air quality monitoring stations located in Arak, including particulate matter (PM), nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), sulfur dioxide (SO 2 ), ozone (O 3 ) and carbon monoxide (CO). Daily numbers of Covid-19 cases including hospital admissions (hospitalization) and deaths (mortality) were obtained from a national data registry recorded by Arak University of Medical Sciences. A Poisson regression model with natural spline functions was applied to set the effects of air pollution on COVID-19 hospitalization and mortality. The percent change of COVID-19 hospitalization per 10 μg/m 3 increase in PM 2.5 and PM 10 were 8.5% (95% CI 7.6 to 11.5) and 4.8% (95% CI 3 to 6.5), respectively. An increase of 10  μ g/m 3 in PM 2.5 resulting in 5.6% (95% CI: 3.1–8.3%) increase in COVID-19 mortality. The percent change of hospitalization (7.7%, 95% CI 2.2 to 13.3) and mortality (4.5%, 95% CI 0.3 to 9.5) were positively significant per one ppb increment in SO 2 , while NO 2 , O 3 and CO were inversely associated with hospitalization and mortality. Our findings strongly suggesting that a small increase in long-term exposure to PM 2.5 , PM 10 and SO2 elevating risks of hospitalization and mortality related to COVID-19.

【 授权许可】

CC BY