Environmental News Network - Study Finds Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Severe COVID-19

Details: By Barcelona Institute for Global Health; 24.May

A long history of exposure to air pollution is associated with a higher risk of developing severe disease, admission to hospital or an intensive care unit (ICU) and death by COVID‑19 according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation.

Cheryl Porter

A long history of exposure to air pollution is associated with a higher risk of developing severe disease, admission to hospital or an intensive care unit (ICU) and death by COVID‑19 according to a study led by the Barcelona Institute for Global Health (ISGlobal), a research centre supported by the ”la Caixa” Foundation. The study, published in the journal Nature Communications, was based on a large cohort of 4,660,502 adults resident in Catalonia in 2020, the year the Spanish autonomous community had a high incidence of COVID-19.

The researchers determined the mean annual levels of fine particulate matter (PM2.5, particles with an aerodynamic diameter of ≤2.5 µm), nitrogen dioxide (NO2), black carbon (BC) and ozone (O3) at the residential address of each participant. They also collected data on severe cases of COVID-19 in 2020, including the number of hospital and ICU admissions, length of hospital stay, and COVID-19 related deaths. An analysis of this data revealed the following associations:

- An increase in exposure to PM5 of 3.2 µg/m3 was associated with a 19% increase in hospital admissions.
- An increase in exposure to NO2 of 16.1 µg/m3 was associated with a 42% increase in ICU admissions.
- An increase in exposure to BC of 0.7 µg/m3 was associated with a 6% increase in mortality.

Barcelona (Photo Credit: Leyre via Unsplash)

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Study Finds Association Between Long-Term Exposure to Air Pollution and Severe COVID-19