Air pollution aggravating COVID-19 lethality? Exploration in Asian cities using statistical models.
Environ Dev Sustain
; 23(4): 6408-6417, 2021.
Article
in English
| MEDLINE | ID: covidwho-2075471
ABSTRACT
The present work estimates the increased risk of coronavirus disease (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 by establishing the linkage between the mortality rate in the infected cases and the air pollution, specifically Particulate Matters (PM) with aerodynamic diameters ≤ 10 µm and ≤ 2.5 µm. Data related to nine Asian cities are analyzed using statistical approaches, including the analysis of variance and regression model. The present work suggests that there exists a positive correlation between the level of air pollution of a region and the lethality related to COVID-19, indicating air pollution to be an elemental and concealed factor in aggravating the global burden of deaths related to COVID-19. Past exposures to high level of PM2.5 over a long period, is found to significantly correlate with present COVID-19 mortality per unit reported cases (p < 0.05) compared to PM10, with non-significant correlation (p = 0.118). The finding of the study can help government agencies, health ministries and policymakers globally to take proactive steps by promoting immunity-boosting supplements and appropriate masks to reduce the risks associated with COVID-19 in highly polluted areas.
Full text:
Available
Collection:
International databases
Database:
MEDLINE
Type of study:
Prognostic study
Language:
English
Journal:
Environ Dev Sustain
Year:
2021
Document Type:
Article
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