April 28, 2020

Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: A nationwide cross-sectional study

Category: Article Summary

Topic: Transmission

• A cross-sectional ecological study used county-level data representing 98% of the US population to investigate the association between fine particulate matter (PM2.5) and COVID-19 death.
• The authors found a statistically significant increase of only 1 𝜇g/m3 in PM2.5 is associated with an 8% increase in the COVID-19 death rate (95% CI: 2-15%). Findings underscore the importance of continuing to enforce existing air pollution regulations to protect human health both during and after the COVID-19 crisis.

Wu et al. (April 7, 2020). Exposure to air pollution and COVID-19 mortality in the United States: A nationwide cross-sectional study. Pre-print downloaded Apr 28 from https://doi.org/10.1101/2020.04.05.20054502