New research points to potential link between pollution levels and Covid-19 death risk

Research points to potential link between pollution and Covid-19 death risk A new study analyzed whether air pollution levels are associated with Covid-19 death tolls in more than 3,000 U.S. counties. Megan Thielking STAT

New research points to another potential factor that might play into a person’s risk of death due to Covid-19: prolonged exposure to high levels of air pollution.

In a study published Wednesday in Science Advances, researchers estimated long-term air pollution levels for more than 3,000 U.S. counties, which also had Covid-19 mortality data available through June 2020. While the study wasn’t designed to show whether pollution exposure directly affected a person’s risk of death due to Covid-19, it did demonstrate an association between increased pollution levels and higher Covid-19 death tolls.

“The results of our study suggest that in counties with high levels of pollution is where we need to implement social distancing measures now more than ever, knowing that people here will be more susceptible to die from Covid-19,” said Francesca Dominici, a professor of biostatistics at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-author of the study.

Previous research has linked elevated concentrations of fine particulate matter in the air, otherwise known as soot, to lung and heart diseases, neurological disorders, and premature deaths after long-term exposure. These particles, which are 2.5 micrometers in diameter or smaller, are easily inhaled and can get deep into the lungs and also enter the bloodstream.

Given that Covid-19 is also a respiratory disease, Dominici and her colleagues hypothesized that exposure to air laden with such particulate matter could exacerbate the severity of Covid-19 symptoms and its prognosis.

“It could be a double hit to the lung function,” said Xiao Wu, a graduate student at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health and co-lead author of the study. ...