Ambient fine particulate matter air pollution and the risk of hospitalization among COVID-19 positive individuals: Cohort study
Abstract
Background Ecologic analyses suggest that living in areas with higher levels of ambient fine particulate matter air pollution (PM2.5) is associated with higher risk of adverse COVID-19 outcomes. Studies accounting for individual-level health characteristics are lacking. Methods We leveraged the breadth and depth of the US Department of Veterans Affairs national healthcare databases and built a national cohort of 169,102 COVID-19 positive United States Veterans, enrolled between March 2, 2020 and January 31, 2021, and followed them through February 15, 2021. Annual average 2018 PM2.5 exposure, at an approximately 1 km2 resolution, was linked with residential street address at the year prior to COVID-19 positive test. COVID-19 hospitalization was defined as first hospital admission between 7 days prior to, and 15 days after, the first COVID-19 positive date. Adjusted Poisson regression assessed the association of PM2.5 with risk of hospitalization. Results There were 25,422 (15.0%) hospitalizations; 5,448 (11.9%), 5,056 (13.0%), 7,159 (16.1%), and 7,759 (19.4%) were in the lowest to highest PM2.5 quartile, respectively. In models adjusted for State, demographic and behavioral factors, contextual characteristics, and characteristics of the pandemic a one interquartile range increase in PM2.5 (1.9 µg/m3) was associated with a 10% (95% CI: 8%–12%) increase in risk of hospitalization. The association of PM2.5 and risk of hospitalization among COVID-19 individuals was present in…
How strong is the evidence?
Evidence Hub reads this as a cohort study, done in people. Its evidence level is 3 of 5 (Moderate · trial / cohort / secondary analysis). Trials without a large randomized design, cohorts and secondary analyses give moderate evidence. Reported size: 19 participants or records.
Read the paper
Related studies
- The impact of the COVID-19 epidemic on mental health of undergraduate students in New Jersey, cross-sectional study
- Household Secondary Attack Rate of COVID-19 and Associated Determinants in Guangzhou, China: A Retrospective Cohort Study
- Viral suppression and HIV transmission in serodiscordant male couples: an international, prospective, observational, cohort study
- Lifetime risk of atrial fibrillation according to optimal, borderline, or elevated levels of risk factors: cohort study based on longitudinal data from the Framingham Heart Study
- Nusinersen in adults with 5q spinal muscular atrophy: a non-interventional, multicentre, observational cohort study
- Population-based rates, timing, and causes of maternal deaths, stillbirths, and neonatal deaths in south Asia and sub-Saharan Africa: a multi-country prospective cohort study
Go deeper in Evidence Hub
Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.