Since containment measures began to cope with the spread of COVID-19, large cities around the world have begun to offer an unusual picture: as a result of the decrease in road traffic, pollution has dropped to record levels. In cities such as Madrid or Barcelona , nitrogen dioxide values are being recorded that, for the first time, are well below the limits set by the World Health Organization.
The problem is that, according to the European Public Health Alliance, this decrease in air pollution comes late for many patients who are fighting the new coronavirus today. And it is that chronic exposure to poor quality air facilitates the premature deterioration of the lungs and contributes to the development of various respiratory diseases.
In fact, a study carried out by researchers at Harvard University reveals that coronavirus patients living in areas that had high levels of air pollution before the pandemic are more likely to die from the disease than those who they live in cleaner areas. It should be noted, however, that like almost all the papers that are being published these days on SARS-CoV-2, the study has not yet passed through the peer review filter: it is currently pre-published on the open platform MedRxiv and has been submitted to the New England Journal of Medicine for review.
To reach their conclusions, the scientists analyzed more than a thousand air pollutant particle counters throughout the United States and, to avoid bias in the model, they also took into account other factors that influence the calculation of mortality from coronavirus, such as the number of beds in the hospitals, the number of tests carried out, the climate and various socioeconomic variables.
The results revealed that the areas with the highest levels of PM 2.5 are associated with higher mortality rates. In fact, an increase of just 1 microgram per cubic meter (μg / m3) in the concentration of these particles in the air is associated with a 15% higher mortality from COVID-19. For example, if in the last twenty years the concentration in the Manhattan area had been 1 μg / m3 less, 248 lives would have been saved at the current peak of the epidemic.
Pollution kills
“Pollution is a serious health problem that causes 10,000 deaths a year in Spain,” recalls Isabel Urrutia, pulmonologist and coordinator of the Environment Area of the Spanish Society of Pulmonology and Thoracic Surgery (SEPAR). “Various Spanish cities often exceed the recommended levels for human health for different pollutants and particles. On the days when this occurs, hospital admissions, medical consultations and emergency services increase, especially for chronic respiratory patients: asthmatics and patients with COPD ”, he concludes.
Many experts warn that the record decrease in pollution that the planet is experiencing these days will be just a mirage if, when we return to normal, the appropriate measures are not taken to contain a possible rebound effect. “From SEPAR, without ceasing to put all our efforts in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic in which we are involved in the front line, we want to remind once again the need to adopt measures to reduce pollution and improve air quality of our surroundings ”explains Carlos A. Jiménez-Ruiz, pulmonologist and president of SEPAR.
On the other hand, the authors of the study consider that this can be useful when planning the distribution of scarce resources such as respirators, since in light of the results these could be more necessary in the most populated and polluted areas of the country .
Reference: Wu et al. 2020. Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States. medRxiv 2020.04.05.20054502
