Long-Term Exposure to Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Rate in Chile during 2020

Macarena Valdés Salgado, Pamela Smith, Mariel A. Opazo and Nicolás Huneeus
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Macarena Valdés Salgado: Center for Climate and Resilience Research CR2, FONDAP N°15110009, Santiago 8370449, Chile
Pamela Smith: Center for Climate and Resilience Research CR2, FONDAP N°15110009, Santiago 8370449, Chile
Mariel A. Opazo: Center for Climate and Resilience Research CR2, FONDAP N°15110009, Santiago 8370449, Chile
Nicolás Huneeus: Center for Climate and Resilience Research CR2, FONDAP N°15110009, Santiago 8370449, Chile

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 14, 1-12

Abstract: Background: Several countries have documented the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollutants and epidemiological indicators of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as incidence and mortality. This study aims to explore the association between air pollutants, such as PM 2.5 and PM 10 , and the incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19 during 2020. Methods: The incidence and mortality rates were estimated using the COVID-19 cases and deaths from the Chilean Ministry of Science, and the population size was obtained from the Chilean Institute of Statistics. A chemistry transport model was used to estimate the annual mean surface concentration of PM 2.5 and PM 10 in a period before the current pandemic. Negative binomial regressions were used to associate the epidemiological information with pollutant concentrations while considering demographic and social confounders. Results: For each microgram per cubic meter, the incidence rate increased by 1.3% regarding PM 2.5 and 0.9% regarding PM 10 . There was no statistically significant relationship between the COVID-19 mortality rate and PM 2.5 or PM 10 . Conclusions: The adjusted regression models showed that the COVID-19 incidence rate was significantly associated with chronic exposure to PM 2.5 and PM 10 , even after adjusting for other variables.

Keywords: COVID-19; SARS-CoV-2; air pollution; climate; South America; environmental indicators (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
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