Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from China

Zhu, Yongjian; Xie, Jingui; Huang, Fengming; Cao, Liqing

doi:10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.138704

Cited by 953 publications

(1,100 citation statements)

References 39 publications

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“…The study shows a pro-inflammatory role of PM in MS through upregulation of the expression of CCR6 on circulating CD4 + T cells and induction in innate immune cells of the production of Th17 polarizing cytokines. Evidences are accumulating of a broader effect of airborne pollution on the incidence and progression of inflammatory and infectious disease, including an increased frequency and higher mortality of COVID-19 cases following increased exposure to air pollutants (30,31). Larger prospective studies are needed to confirm the effect of PM10 on Th17 cell polarization in MS patients, as well as to confirm the effect of PM10 on migratory properties of circulating lymphocyte and loss of BBB integrity.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Pollution as a Contributor to the Inflammatory Activity of Multiple Sclerosis

Cortese

Lova

Comoli

et al. 2020

Preprint

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OBJECTIVE Air pollution has been recently identified as a risk factor for multiple sclerosis. Aim of this study was to investigate the immunological mechanism underlying the clinical association between air pollution, namely exposure to particulate matter 10 (PM10), and inflammatory activity of multiple sclerosis (MS) METHODS Daily recording of PM10 was obtained by monitors depending on the residence of subjects. Expression of molecules involved in activation, adhesion and migration of T lymphocytes were tested by flow-cytometry in 57 MS patients. We next assessed in vitro the effect of PM10 on expression of C-C chemokine receptors 6 (CCR6) by peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs), on cytokine production by monocyte-derived dendritic cells (mdDC) and on T cell polarization in PBMC/mdDC mixed cultures. RESULTS We identified a significant correlation between mean PM10 levels and expression of CCR6 CD4 + T circulating cells in MS patients. This was paralleled by the observation in vitro of a higher level of CCR6 expression on PBMC following treatment with increased doses of particulate matter. Moreover, in mdDC cultures particulate matter induced the secretion by mdDC of Th17 polarizing IL1 beta, IL6 and IL23 and, in mdDC/PBMC mixed cultures, enhanced generation of IL17-producing T cells. CONCLUSIONS Ex vivo and in vitro studies support the pro-inflammatory role of PM in MS, by upregulating expression of CCR6 on circulating CD4 + T cells and inducing in innate immune cells the production of Th17 polarizing cytokines. Therefore, we speculate that in MS respiratory exposure to PM10 may induce the production in the lung of autoreactive Th17 lymphocytes and boost their migratory properties through the blood-brain barrier.

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Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Air Pollution as a Contributor to the Inflammatory Activity of Multiple Sclerosis

Cortese

Lova

Comoli

et al. 2020

Preprint

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“…Moreover, atmospheric pollution is generally greater in more populated cities; in our study, for example, the concentration of PM10 and PM2.5 increased with population density (r = 0.38, p < 0.001 and r = 0.15, p = 0.032, respectively), although we did not include these data in our analyses because of the low sample size of available pollution data. Previous studies have indicated that air pollutants are risk factors for respiratory infection by carrying microorganisms and affecting human immunity 13,[33][34][35] , and have been reported a signi cant association of PM10 and PM2.5 with hospitalizations due to respiratory disease 33,34,36 . These relationships are particularly concerning in Chile, where 12 cities have been ranked among the 15 most polluted in South America, with the capital city Santiago being in 35th place worldwide 37 .…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For example, one study reported an inverse relationship between COVID-19 transmission and wind speed in Iran 10 , while global studies have found no signi cant association between both variables 11,12 . A negative relationship of the disease transmission with solar radiation has been reported in Iran 10 , and a positive relationship with the concentration of atmospheric pollutants was found in China 13 . Overall, and despite the rapid response of the scienti c community to understand the transmission of COVID-19, the role that environmental variables play in the disease dynamics remains an open question that requires further evidence across the world.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 96%

Environmental determinants of COVID-19 transmission across a wide climatic gradient in Chile

Correa‐Araneda

Ulloa-Yañez

Núñez

et al. 2020

Preprint

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Several studies have examined the transmission dynamics of the novel COVID-19 disease in different parts of the world. Some have reported relationships with several environmental variables, suggesting that spread of the disease is enhanced in colder and drier climates. However, evidence is still scarce and mostly limited to a few countries, particularly from Asia. We examined the potential role of multiple environmental variables in COVID-19 transmission rates and patterns from February 23 to April 16 across 121 cities of Chile; this country covers a large climatic gradient (≈ 40º of latitude, ≈ 4,000 m of altitude and 5 climatic regions, from desert to tundra), but all cities share their social behaviour patterns and regulations. Our results indicated that COVID-19 transmission in Chile was mostly related to 3 main climatic factors (mean temperature, relative humidity and wind speed) and population size. Transmission was greater in colder and drier cities (although wind modulated the effect of temperature) and when wind speed was higher; finally, transmission increased with population size. The results of this study support some previous findings about the main environmental and demographic determinants of COVID-19 transmission, which may be useful for decision-making and management of the disease.

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“…Hence, nowadays the fact that high levels of air pollution have a detrimental effect on public health and environment is now rarely contested. Zhu et al (2020) point out that governments should pay attention to cities and regions with high concentrations of pollutants in the air (e.g., PM2.5, PM10, NO2, O3, etc.) because these regions may wide negative effects on public health from epidemics similar to COVID-19 and/or other infections.…”

Section: Resultsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 and Public Health

Coccia¹

2020

Preprint

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The pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), generate by a novel virus SARS-CoV-2, is rapidly spreading all over the world, generating a high number of deaths. One of the current questions in the field of environmental science is to explain the relationships determining the diffusion of COVID-19 in specific regions of countries. The research here focuses on case study of Italy, one of the countries in the World to experience a rapid increase in confirmed cases and deaths. Results suggest that diffusion of COVID-19 is very high in cities with high air pollution generating severe negative effects on public health o. In particular, results reveal that, among Italian provincial capitals, the number of infected people was higher in cities with more than 100 days per year exceeding limits set for PM10 or ozone, cities located in hinterland zones (i.e. away from the coast), cities having a low average intensity of wind speed and cities with a lower temperature. In hinterland cities (mostly those bordering large urban conurbations) with a high number of days exceeding PM10 and ozone limits, coupled with low wind speed (atmospheric stability), the average number of infected people in April 2020 more than tripled those that had less than 100 days of excessive air pollution. In fact, results show that more than 75% of infected individuals and about 81% of deaths in Italy of COVID-19 are in regions with high air pollution. This study must conclude that a long-run strategy to constrain future epidemics similar to the COVID-19, reducing the negative impact on public health has also to be designed in terms of environmental and sustainability policies and not only in terms of efficient approaches in medicine.

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Association between short-term exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 infection: Evidence from China

Cited by 953 publications

References 39 publications

Air Pollution as a Contributor to the Inflammatory Activity of Multiple Sclerosis

Air Pollution as a Contributor to the Inflammatory Activity of Multiple Sclerosis

Environmental determinants of COVID-19 transmission across a wide climatic gradient in Chile

Effects of Air Pollution on COVID-19 and Public Health

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