Exploring the connection between air pollution and COVID-19 in Louisiana

Abstract

BACKGROUND AND AIM: Minority communities, especially African Americans are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 in the United States (US). In Louisiana, African Americans account 32.2% (1.5 million) of the population with higher rates of social disparities and chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and hypertension. These health conditions are often linked to long-term exposure to air pollutions and are known to compromise the immune system and increase vulnerability to COVID-19 infection and death. The aim of this study is to determine the associations between air pollution PM2.5 and COVID-19 mortality and infection rates. METHODS: Spatial analysis of COVID-19 was conducted using Getis-Ord (GI*) statistics. Pearson correlation coefficient and negative binomial regression were used to quantify associations between PM2.5 concentration with COVID-19 mortality and incidence rates. RESULTS:We found that Louisiana average long-term PM2.5 (9.1 µg/m3) is higher than the U.S. (8.4 ug/m3). A 1 µg/m3 increase in PM2.5 is associated with a 2%-3% increase in the COVID-19 death and case in both count and rate (p0.03), adjusting for health conditions and social factors. In high PM2.5 areas, African Americans who were exposed to long-term PM2.5, mortality rate was 2.4% higher than other races (p0.0001) and 13% higher risk to COVID-19 death if infected (p0.05). CONCLUSIONS:The outcomes of the study highlight the importance of continuing to control air pollution and help to plan effective responses to prevent and mitigate the risks of COVID-19 infection, and future respiratory diseases on local and state levels. KEYWORDS: COVID-19, Air Pollution, Particulate Matter, Long-term exposure