More serious symptoms, such as cough, pneumonia, up to hospitalization due to Covid. Smog would be a contributing cause of the worsening of the conditions of the positives. Pollution would not favor the transmissibility of the virus but would affect the worsening of the disease.
The evidence emerged from a study conducted by the Barcelona Institute of Global Health (ISGlobal) and published in the journal Environment Health Perspectives. Until now, no study had investigated how smog favors the disease, or its aggravation.
The details of the study
Experts considered 9,605 people including 481 confirmed cases of Covid (5%). For 4,000 of the participants, the experts performed blood tests in search of specific antibodies against the virus. It was found that higher exposure to nitric oxide and fine particles (PM2.5 fine particles) corresponded to higher concentrations of antibodies (an indicator of high viral load and stronger symptoms of infection).
In all cases, an association was found between high levels of pollutants and disease (presence of symptoms), particularly for the most severe cases that end up in hospital and intensive care. The association with fine particulate matter and disease was particularly strong for males over-60 and for those living in socio-economically disadvantaged areas.
The statement of the authors of the research
“Our study provides the strongest evidence on a global level of the association between air pollution and Covid,” explains the author of the work Manolis Kogevinas. “These findings are in line with the association between air pollution and hospitalization described for other infectious diseases such as influenza or pneumonia,” he continues.
«Smog could therefore also contribute to promoting the development of chronic cardiovascular and respiratory conditions, which in turn would increase the risk of serious Covid.», concludes the expert.
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