Critical air pollutant assessments and health effects attributed to PM2.5 during and after COVID-19 lockdowns in Iran: application of AirQ+ models

Frontiers in Public Health

Public Health

Safiye Ghobakhloo¹  Gholam Reza Mostafaii¹  Amir Hossein Khoshakhlagh²  Pariya Hosseinnia³  Agnieszka Gruszecka-Kosowska⁴  Kai-Jen Chuang⁵ 

[1] Department of Environmental Health Engineering, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran;Department of Occupational Health Engineering, School of Health, Kashan University of Medical Sciences, Kashan, Iran;Department of Public Health, Garmsar Branch, Islamic Azad University, Garmsar, Iran;Faculty of Geology, Geophysics, and Environmental Protection, Department of Environmental Protection, AGH University of Science and Technology, Krakow, Poland;School of Public Health, College of Public Health, Taipei Medical University, Taipei, Taiwan;

关键词: air pollution;    COVID-19;    air quality index (AQI);    AirQ+ modeling;    lockdown;   

DOI  :  10.3389/fpubh.2023.1120694

 received in 2022-12-10, accepted in 2023-04-28,  发布年份 2023

来源: Frontiers

【 摘 要 】

ObjectivesThe aim of this study was to evaluate changes in air quality index (AQI) values before, during, and after lockdown, as well as to evaluate the number of hospitalizations due to respiratory and cardiovascular diseases attributed to atmospheric PM2.5 pollution in Semnan, Iran in the period from 2019 to 2021 during the COVID-19 pandemic.MethodsDaily air quality records were obtained from the global air quality index project and the US Environmental Protection Administration (EPA). In this research, the AirQ+ model was used to quantify health consequences attributed to particulate matter with an aerodynamic diameter of <2.5 μm (PM2.5).ResultsThe results of this study showed positive correlations between air pollution levels and reductions in pollutant levels during and after the lockdown. PM2.5 was the critical pollutant for most days of the year, as its AQI was the highest among the four investigated pollutants on most days. Mortality rates from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) attributed to PM2.5 in 2019–2021 were 25.18% in 2019, 22.55% in 2020, and 22.12% in 2021. Mortality rates and hospital admissions due to cardiovascular and respiratory diseases decreased during the lockdown. The results showed a significant decrease in the percentage of days with unhealthy air quality in short-term lockdowns in Semnan, Iran with moderate air pollution. Natural mortality (due to all-natural causes) and other mortalities related to COPD, ischemic heart disease (IHD), lung cancer (LC), and stroke attributed to PM2.5 in 2019–2021 decreased.ConclusionOur results support the general finding that anthropogenic activities cause significant health threats, which were paradoxically revealed during a global health crisis/challenge.

【 授权许可】

Unknown   
Copyright © 2023 Ghobakhloo, Khoshakhlagh, Mostafaii, Chuang, Gruszecka-Kosowska and Hosseinnia.