Incidence of COVID-19 and Connections with Air Pollution Exposure : Evidence from the Netherlands

Andree, Bo Pieter Johannes

World Bank, Washington, DC

关键词: COVID-19;    CORONAVIRUS;    AIR POLLUTION;    ATMOSPHERIC PARTICULATE MATTER;    SARS-COV-2;   

DOI  :  10.1596/1813-9450-9221
RP-ID  :  WPS9221

学科分类：社会科学、人文和艺术（综合）

来源: World Bank Open Knowledge Repository

【 摘 要 】

The fast spread of severe acuterespiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 has resulted in theemergence of several hot-spots around the world. Several ofthese are located in areas associated with high levels ofair pollution. This study investigates the relationshipbetween exposure to particulate matter and COVID-19incidence in 355 municipalities in the Netherlands. Theresults show that atmospheric particulate matter withdiameter less than 2.5 is a highly significant predictor ofthe number of confirmed COVID-19 cases and related hospitaladmissions. The estimates suggest that expected COVID-19cases increase by nearly 100 percent when pollutionconcentrations increase by 20 percent. The associationbetween air pollution and case incidence is robust in thepresence of data on health-related preconditions, proxiesfor symptom severity, and demographic control variables. Theresults are obtained with ground-measurements andsatellite-derived measures of atmospheric particulate matteras well as COVID-19 data from alternative dates. Thefindings call for further investigation into the associationbetween air pollution and SARS-CoV-2 infection risk. Ifparticulate matter plays a significant role in COVID-19incidence, it has strong implications for the mitigationstrategies required to prevent spreading.