COVID-19 Death Rate Seems Higher In Places With Poor Air Quality, Study Finds

The world is in a really delicate state due to COVID-19. Cases are just piling up every day, infecting over 14 lakh people and claiming lives of over 88,000 people globally.

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Countries like Italy, the US has seen an exponential spike in the number of deaths. While there could be many reasons for this unusual spike, some researchers feel that it is linked to air pollution.

This is according to a study (published in medRxiv) conducted by academics at Harvard University. We already know PM2.5 particles in the air that come from vehicles, factories that burn fossil fuels are harmful to our lungs.

And now these particles have also seen to severely affect COVID-19 patients. Researchers state in the study, ¡°We found that an increase of only 1¦Ìg/m3 in PM2.5 [particles] is associated with a 15 percent increase in the COVID-19 death rate.¡±

Pollution and COVID-19

Researchers looked at air pollution data from around 3000 counties in the US -- these amount for 98 percent of US¡¯s population -- and compared to COVID-19 figures in those locations.

They factored in parameters such as poverty, levels of smoking, obesity as well as hospital bed availability. A thorough analysis revealed that long term exposure to PM2.5 particles drastically increases the chances of death from COVID-19.

Reuters

It is no news that air pollution weakens our body¡¯s respiratory tract and this also affects its ability to prevent getting infected. However, this was 20 times stronger in cases of COVID-19.

Francesca Dominici, co-director of the Harvard Data Science Initiative stated, ¡°We hypothesize that because long-term exposure to PM2.5 adversely affects the respiratory and cardiovascular system, it can also exacerbate the severity of the COVID-19 infection symptoms and may increase the risk of death in COVID-19 patients.¡±

She further added, ¡°The association between PM2.5 and health including pregnancy outcomes, respiratory diseases, cardiovascular diseases, neurocognitive diseases in the United States and worldwide is well established.¡±

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Destroying our lung's immunity

When pollution enters our body, it destroys our body¡¯s first line of defence against the pathogens entering our lungs. Tiny hair-like structures called cilia that are essentially there to ward off pathogens becomes less effective. It is designed to trap and remove the infection, but its inability results in the development of chronic respiratory conditions.

And as well all know, COVID-19 poses the greatest danger to our lungs, and causes severe breathing issues, lowering lung capacity, and if treatments fail eventually claiming the life of the patient.

While the research is only focussed on cases and air quality in the US, the same can be applied globally too. Researchers ask for stringent guidelines in preventing rise of pollution to harmful levels, so not impact people¡¯s immunity against lung infections.

Researchers conclude stating, ¡°The study results underscore the importance of continuing to enforce existing air pollution regulations to protect human health both during and after the COVID-19 crisis.¡± We advise our readers to take this study with a pinch of salt for now, as it is yet to be peer-reviewed.