Global association between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality: A systematic review and meta-analysis

The COVID-19 pandemic presents unprecedented challenge for global public health systems and exacerbates existing health disparities. Epidemiological evidence suggested a potential linkage between particulate and gaseous pollutants and COVID-19 mortality. We aimed to summarize the overall risk of COVID-19 mortality associated with ambient air pollutants over the short- and long-term.

For the systematic review and meta-analysis, we searched five databases for studies evaluating the risk of COVID-19 mortality from exposure to air pollution. Inclusion of articles was assessed independently on the basis of research topic and availability of effect estimates. The risk estimates (relative risk) for each pollutant were pooled with a random-effect model. Potential heterogeneity was explored by subgroup analysis. Funnel plots and trim-and-fill methods were employed to assess and adjust for publication bias.

The systematic review retrieved 2059 records, and finally included 43 original studies. PM_2.5 (RR: 1.71, 95 % CI: 1.40-2.08, per 10 μg/m³ increase), NO₂ (RR: 1.33, 1.07-1.65, per 10 ppb increase) and O₃ (RR: 1.61, 1.00-2.57, per 10 ppb increase) were positively associated with COVID-19 mortality for long-term exposures. Accordingly, a higher risk of COVID-19 mortality was associated with PM_2.5 (1.05, 1.02-1.08), PM₁₀ (1.05, 1.01-1.08), and NO₂ (1.40, 1.04-1.90) for short-term exposures. There was some heterogeneity across subgroups of income level and geographical areas.

Both long-term and short-term exposures to ambient air pollution may increase the risk of COVID-19 mortality. Future studies utilizing individual-level information on demographics, exposures, outcome ascertainment and confounders are warranted to improve the accuracy of estimates.