PM 2.5 Pollution Strongly Predicted COVID-19 Incidence in Four High-Polluted Urbanized Italian Cities during the Pre-Lockdown and Lockdown Periods

Ourania S. Kotsiou, Vaios S. Kotsios, Ioannis Lampropoulos, Thomas Zidros, Sotirios G. Zarogiannis and Konstantinos I. Gourgoulianis
Additional contact information
Ourania S. Kotsiou: Faculty of Nursing, University of Thessaly, GAIOPOLIS, 41110 Larissa, Thessaly, Greece
Vaios S. Kotsios: Metsovion Interdisciplinary Research Center, National Technical University of Athens, 44200 Attica, Athens, Greece
Ioannis Lampropoulos: Respiratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, BIOPOLIS, 41110 Larissa, Thessaly, Greece
Thomas Zidros: Department of Automation Engineering, Alexander Technological Educational Institute of Thessaloniki, 57400 Thessaloniki, Athens, Greece
Sotirios G. Zarogiannis: Department of Physiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, BIOPOLIS, 41500 Larissa, Thessaly, Greece
Konstantinos I. Gourgoulianis: Respiratory Medicine Department, Faculty of Medicine, University of Thessaly, BIOPOLIS, 41110 Larissa, Thessaly, Greece

IJERPH, 2021, vol. 18, issue 10, 1-14

Abstract: Background: The coronavirus disease in 2019 (COVID-19) heavily hit Italy, one of Europe’s most polluted countries. The extent to which PM pollution contributed to COVID-19 diffusion is needing further clarification. We aimed to investigate the particular matter (PM) pollution and its correlation with COVID-19 incidence across four Italian cities: Milan, Rome, Naples, and Salerno, during the pre-lockdown and lockdown periods. Methods: We performed a comparative analysis followed by correlation and regression analyses of the daily average PM 10 , PM 2.5 concentrations, and COVID-19 incidence across four cities from 1 January 2020 to 8 April 2020, adjusting for several factors, taking a two-week time lag into account. Results: Milan had significantly higher average daily PM 10 and PM 2.5 levels than Rome, Naples, and Salerno. Rome, Naples, and Salerno maintained safe PM 10 levels. The daily PM 2.5 levels exceeded the legislative standards in all cities during the entire period. PM 2.5 pollution was related to COVID-19 incidence. The PM 2.5 levels and sampling rate were strong predictors of COVID-19 incidence during the pre-lockdown period. The PM 2.5 levels, population’s age, and density strongly predicted COVID-19 incidence during lockdown. Conclusions: Italy serves as a noteworthy paradigm illustrating that PM 2.5 pollution impacts COVID-19 spread. Even in lockdown, PM 2.5 levels negatively impacted COVID-19 incidence.

Keywords: air pollution; coronavirus disease 2019; fine particulate matter; humidity; Italy; temperature; wind speed (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2021
References: View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (1)

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