Hospitalised COVID-19 patients who lived in high air pollution areas had particularly poor outcomes, researchers report today.
Because the burden created by COVID varies across geographical locations, Professor Tim Nawrot of Hasselt University in Belgium, and colleagues looked at the possible link with air pollution and soot.
“Air pollution exposure is one of the major risk factors for aggravation of respiratory diseases,” they write in today’s European Respiratory Journal.
They measured levels of (PM2.5 and PM10), nitrogen dioxide, and soot (black carbon particles) in the blood of 328 hospitalised COVID patients in Belgium, of which 29% were in intensive care.
This showed that higher concentrations of these particles, even at levels well below current EU limits, was significantly linked to a longer stay in hospital, equivalent to the effect of a ten-year increase in age.
The level of soot also raised the risk of intensive care hospitalisation by 36%. Those with certain medical conditions including heart disease, asthma, diabetes and dementia, were especially at risk.
“Higher pre-admission ambient air pollution and blood black carbon levels predicted adverse outcomes,” the authors report.
“Air pollution influences on COVID-19 severity, and therefore the burden on medical care systems during the pandemic,” they add.
Professor Nawrot said: “Our findings indicate that people who were exposed to air pollution, even at relatively low levels, were sicker and needed more time in hospital to recover.
“The pandemic placed an enormous strain on doctors, nurses and other health care workers. Our research suggests that air pollution made that burden even greater.”
Co-author Dr Zorana Jovanovic Andersen added: “Cleaner air would make populations more resilient to respiratory infections, seasonal epidemics, and major pandemics in future.”
Vos, S. et al. Pre-admission ambient air pollution and blood soot particles predict hospitalisation outcomes in COVID-19 patients. European Respiratory Journal 21 June 2023; doi: 10.1183/13993003.00309-2023
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