Public Health Services, Ministry of Health, 39 Yirmiyahu Street, 9446724, Jerusalem, Israel; School of Engineering, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel; Research Center for Health Informatics, Ruppin Academic Center, Emek Hefer, Israel.
Israel Society of Ecology and Environmental Sciences, Tel Aviv, Israel; School of Sciences, Achva Academic College, Yinon, Israel.
Environ Res. 2021 Apr;195:110723. doi: 10.1016/j.envres.2021.110723. Epub 2021 Jan 21.
Exposure to ambient air pollution is related to 4.2 million premature deaths per year worldwide and is associated with a variety of adverse health outcomes, such as respiratory and cardiovascular morbidity. Furthermore, exposure to air pollution can increase human sensitivity to respiratory pathogens via damage to the respiratory tract or via airborne transmission on the surface of particulate matter, and might be an additional factor influencing COVID-19 morbidity and mortality rates. The aim of this study was to examine the association between populations' exposure to air pollution and the morbidity and mortality rates from COVID-19.
We examined the association between population-weighted long-term exposure to PM and NOx, and the morbidity and mortality over time following the detection of the first COVID-19 positive case in 36 OECD countries. Pearson and Spearman correlations between daily COVID-19 morbidity and mortality (Jan-Jun 2020) on the 10, 20, 40, 60 and 80 days since first confirmed case in the country, and demographic, health, economic, and environmental data were calculated. Multivariate linear regression were used to examine the associations between demographic, health, economic and air pollution features and the rate of confirmed cases and deaths on the 60 and 80 days following the first confirmed case.
PM concentrations in 2015-2017 were positively correlated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality on the 10, 20, 40 and 60 days since the first confirmed case in all countries. NOx concentrations in 2015-2017 and country's density (population/Km) were positively correlated with COVID-19 morbidity and mortality on the 60 day. All multivariate linear regressions consisting PM concentrations models were statistically significant. Our models also emphasize the importance of the relative number of hospital beds in decreasing the morbidity and mortality of COVID-19.
The adverse health outcomes stemming from long-term exposure to various air pollutants has long been known to the scientific community. According to our results and previously published studies, it appears that long-term exposure to air pollutants concentrations exceeding WHO guidelines, such as PM and NOx, might exacerbate morbidity and mortality rates from COVID-19. These results should raise a red flag globally among decision makers about the urgent need to reduce air pollution and its harmful effects.
全球每年有 420 万人因暴露于环境空气中的污染物而过早死亡，并且与各种不良健康后果有关，例如呼吸道和心血管疾病发病率上升。此外，暴露于空气污染可通过损害呼吸道或通过颗粒物表面的空气传播来增加人类对呼吸道病原体的敏感性，并且可能是影响 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率的另一个因素。本研究旨在探讨人群暴露于空气污染与 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率之间的关系。
我们研究了人群加权长期暴露于 PM 和 NOx 与 36 个经合组织国家自首次检测到 COVID-19 阳性病例后一段时间内的发病率和死亡率之间的关系。我们计算了每日 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率（2020 年 1 月至 6 月）与该国首次确诊病例后 10、20、40、60 和 80 天之间的 Pearson 和 Spearman 相关性，以及人口统计学，健康，经济和环境数据。我们使用多元线性回归来研究人口统计学，健康，经济和空气污染特征与首次确诊病例后 60 和 80 天内确诊病例和死亡人数之间的关系。
2015-2017 年 PM 浓度与所有国家首次确诊病例后 10、20、40 和 60 天的 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率呈正相关。2015-2017 年 NOx 浓度和国家密度（人口/平方公里）与首次确诊病例后 60 天的 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率呈正相关。所有包含 PM 浓度模型的多元线性回归均具有统计学意义。我们的模型还强调了相对数量的医院床位在降低 COVID-19 发病率和死亡率方面的重要性。
科学界早就知道长期暴露于各种空气污染物会对健康产生不利影响。根据我们的结果和以前发表的研究，似乎长期暴露于超过世界卫生组织（WHO）指南的空气污染物浓度，例如 PM 和 NOx，可能会使 COVID-19 的发病率和死亡率恶化。这些结果应该在全球决策者中引起警惕，迫切需要减少空气污染及其有害影响。
