Ambient air pollution and COVID-19 incidence during four 2020–2021 case surges

Abstract

Background Air pollution exposure may make people more vulnerable to COVID-19 infection. However, previous studies in this area mostly focused on infection before May 2020 and long-term exposure. Objective To assess both long-term and short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 incidence across four case surges from 03/1/2020 to 02/28/2021. Methods The cohort included 4.6 million members from a large integrated health care system in southern California with comprehensive electronic medical records (EMR). COVID-19 cases were identified from EMR. Incidence of COVID-19 was computed at the census tract-level among members. Prior 1-month and 1-year averaged air pollutant levels (PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and O 3 ) at the census tract-level were estimated based on hourly and daily air quality data. Data analyses were conducted by each wave: 3/1/2020–5/31/2020, 6/1/202–9/30/2020, 10/1/2020–12/31/2020, and 1/1/2021–2/28/2021 and pooled across waves using meta-analysis. Generalized linear mixed effects models with Poisson distribution and spatial autocorrelation were used with adjustment for meteorological factors and census tract-level social and health characteristics. Results were expressed as relative risk (RR) per 1 standard deviation. Results The cohort included 446,440 COVID-19 cases covering 4609 census tracts. The pooled RRs (95% CI) of COVID-19 incidence associated with 1-year exposures to PM 2.5 , NO 2 , and O 3 were 1.11 (1.04, 1.18) per 2.3 μg/m 3 ,1.09 (1.02, 1.17) per 3.2 ppb, and 1.06 (1.00, 1.12) per 5.5 ppb respectively. The corresponding RRs (95% CI) associated with prior 1-month exposures were 1.11 (1.03, 1.20) per 5.2 μg/m 3 for PM 2.5 , 1.09 (1.01, 1.17) per 6.0 ppb for NO 2 and 0.96 (0.85, 1.08) per 12.0 ppb for O 3 . Conclusion Long-term PM 2.5 and NO 2 exposures were associated with increased risk of COVID-19 incidence across all case surges before February 2021. Short-term PM 2.5 and NO 2 exposures were also associated. Our findings suggest that air pollution may play a role in increasing the risk of COVID-19 infection.

Proximity to livestock farms and COVID-19 in the Netherlands, 2020–2021

“…Ambient air pollution has been associated with SARS-CoV-2 incidence in the Netherlands ( Andree, 2020 ; Cole et al, 2020 ) and in several other countries among others Canada ( Stieb et al, 2020 ), USA ( Sidell et al, 2022 ), Italy ( De Angelis et al, 2021 ) and Germany ( Prinz and Richter, 2022 ), mostly in ecological settings. We therefore included ambient PM 10 and NO 2 concentrations as covariates.…”

Air pollution, SARS-CoV-2 incidence and COVID-19 mortality in Rome: a longitudinal study

“…No association between PM 2.5 or NO 2 and mortality was found in a prospective longitudinal study conducted in Ontario, Canada, while significant associations were estimated with hospitalizations and accesses to intensive care units [9]. In contrast, positive associations between PM 2.5 exposure and COVID-19 incidence were estimated in northern Italy [10] and southern California [11].…”

Spatial Associations of Long-term Exposure to Diesel Particulate Matter with Seasonal and Annual Mortality Due to COVID-19 in the Contiguous United States

“…long model, and the confounders Hispanic, Mining or Agriculture, Public Transportation, Time to Work, Income Inequality, and Population Density were signi cant at different time periods of the model.DiscussionOur study analyzed the spatial correlation between COVID-19 mortality and long-term DPM concentration as a surrogate for exposure across the continental United States during three waves of the COVID-19 pandemic during 2020. Our results suggested that long-term exposure to DPM may have been an important factor in COVID-19 mortality during the rst two waves of the disease and that long-term DPM exposure may have been more highly in uential during the January-May wave Sidell et al (2022). examined associations between air pollution exposure and COVID-19 incidence for monthly and annual averages of PM 2.5 , nitrogen dioxide (NO 2 ), and ozone (O 3 ) over four waves corresponding to those in our study plus January-February, 2021 for a Southern California cohort.…”