Tecnologico de Monterrey, Mexico; Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Carretera México-Toluca 655, Santa Fe, Altavista, Álvaro Obregón, 01210 Ciudad de México, Mexico.
Centro de Investigación y Docencia Económicas, Carretera México-Toluca 655, Santa Fe, Altavista, Álvaro Obregón, 01210 Ciudad de México, Mexico; Banco de Mexico.
Sci Total Environ. 2021 Feb 20;756:143929. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.143929. Epub 2020 Nov 26.
We use individual-level data to estimate the effects of long- and short-term exposure to air pollution (PM) on the probability of dying from COVID-19. To the best of our knowledge, our study is the first to look at this relationship using individual-level data. We find that for Mexico City there is evidence of a positive relationship between pollution and mortality that significantly grows with age and that appears to be mostly driven by long- rather than short-term exposure. By using a rich set of individual- and municipal-level covariates we are able to isolate the effect of exposure to pollution from other crucial factors, thus alleviating endogeneity concerns related to selection. Our results provide yet another reason for the need to implement environmental strategies that will reduce the exposure to air pollution: it is a key element to improve the general population's health. In addition, and considering that at this moment we do not know when the pandemic will stop or if SARS-CoV-2 will become a recurrent threat, the relationship that we uncovered suggests that financial resources should be allocated to improve medical services in those areas where PM concentrations tend to be high.
我们利用个人层面的数据来估计长期和短期暴露于空气污染（PM）对 COVID-19 死亡率的影响。据我们所知，我们的研究首次使用个人层面的数据来研究这种关系。我们发现，对于墨西哥城，有证据表明污染和死亡率之间存在正相关关系，这种关系随着年龄的增长而显著增加，而且似乎主要是由长期暴露而不是短期暴露驱动的。通过使用一组丰富的个人和市级协变量，我们能够将暴露于污染的影响与其他关键因素隔离开来，从而减轻与选择相关的内生性问题。我们的研究结果为需要实施环境战略以减少空气污染暴露提供了另一个理由：这是改善一般人群健康的关键因素。此外，考虑到目前我们不知道大流行何时会结束，或者 SARS-CoV-2 是否会成为一个反复出现的威胁，我们发现的这种关系表明，应该在 PM 浓度较高的地区分配财政资源来改善医疗服务。
