Namdar-Khojasteh Davood, Yeghaneh Bijan, Maher Ali, Namdar-Khojasteh Farzaneh, Tu Jun
Department of Soil Science, Soil and Health Group, Faculty of Agriculture, Shahed University, P.O.Box 18155/159, 3319118651, Tehran, Iran.
Faculty of Civil, Water and Environmental Engineering, Shahid Beheshti University, Tehran, Iran.
Atmos Pollut Res. 2022 Jul;13(7):101474. doi: 10.1016/j.apr.2022.101474. Epub 2022 Jun 11.
The COVID-19 disease caused by the SARS-CoV-2 virus first identified in December 2019 has resulted in millions of deaths so far around the world. Controlling the spread of the disease requires a good understanding of the factors (e.g. air pollutants) that influence virus transmission and the conditions under which it spreads. This study analyzed the relationships between COVID-19 cases and both short-term (6-month) and long-term (60-month) exposures to eight air pollutants (NO, NO, NOx, CO, SO, O, PM and PM) in Tehran city, Iran, by integrating geostatistical interpolation models, regression analysis, and an innovated COVID-19 incidence rate calculation (Q-index) that considered the spatial distributions of both population and air pollution. The results show that the higher COVID-19 incidence rate was significantly associated with the exposure to higher concentrations of CO, NO, and NOx during the short-term period; the higher COVID-19 incidence rate was significantly related to the exposure to higher concentrations of PM during the long-term period; while COVID-19 incidence rate was not significantly associated with the concentrations of O, SO, PM and NO in either period. This study indicates that exposure to air pollutants can effect an increase in the number of infected people by transmitting the virus through the air or by predisposing people to the disease over time. The Q-index calculation method developed in this study can be also used by other studies to calculate more accurate disease rates that consider the spatial distribution of both population and air pollution.
2019年12月首次发现的严重急性呼吸综合征冠状病毒2（SARS-CoV-2）引发的2019冠状病毒病，迄今为止已在全球造成数百万人死亡。控制该疾病的传播需要深入了解影响病毒传播的因素（如空气污染物）以及疾病传播的条件。本研究通过整合地理统计插值模型、回归分析以及一种创新的考虑人口和空气污染空间分布的2019冠状病毒病发病率计算方法（Q指数），分析了伊朗德黑兰市2019冠状病毒病病例与8种空气污染物（一氧化氮、二氧化氮、氮氧化物、一氧化碳、二氧化硫、臭氧、细颗粒物和可吸入颗粒物）短期（6个月）和长期（60个月）暴露之间的关系。结果表明，在短期内，较高的2019冠状病毒病发病率与接触较高浓度的一氧化碳、一氧化氮和氮氧化物显著相关；在长期内，较高的2019冠状病毒病发病率与接触较高浓度的细颗粒物显著相关；而在两个时期内，2019冠状病毒病发病率与臭氧、二氧化硫、可吸入颗粒物和二氧化氮的浓度均无显著关联。本研究表明，接触空气污染物可通过空气传播病毒或使人们长期易患该疾病，从而导致感染人数增加。本研究开发的Q指数计算方法也可供其他研究用于计算更准确的考虑人口和空气污染空间分布的疾病发病率。
