Long-Term Exposure to Fine and Coarse Particulate Matter and COVID-19 Incidence and Mortality Rate in Chile during 2020

Background: Several countries have documented the relationship between long-term exposure to air pollutants and epidemiological indicators of the COVID-19 pandemic, such as incidence and mortality. This study aims to explore the association between air pollutants, such as PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, and the incidence and mortality rates of COVID-19 during 2020.

Methods: The incidence and mortality rates were estimated using the COVID-19 cases and deaths from the Chilean Ministry of Science, and the population size was obtained from the Chilean Institute of Statistics. A chemistry transport model was used to estimate the annual mean surface concentration of PM_2.5 and PM₁₀ in a period before the current pandemic. Negative binomial regressions were used to associate the epidemiological information with pollutant concentrations while considering demographic and social confounders.

Results: For each microgram per cubic meter, the incidence rate increased by 1.3% regarding PM_2.5 and 0.9% regarding PM₁₀. There was no statistically significant relationship between the COVID-19 mortality rate and PM_2.5 or PM₁₀.

Conclusions: The adjusted regression models showed that the COVID-19 incidence rate was significantly associated with chronic exposure to PM_2.5 and PM₁₀, even after adjusting for other variables.