Long-term effects of extreme smoke exposure on COVID-19: A cohort study

Abstract

Background: In 2014, the Hazelwood coalmine fire shrouded the regional Australian town of Morwell in smoke and ash for 6 weeks. One of the fire's by-products, PM_2.5 , is associated with an increased risk of COVID-19 and severe disease. However, it is unclear whether the effect persisted for years after exposure. In this study, we surveyed a cohort established prior to the pandemic to determine whether PM_2.5 from the coalmine fire increased long-term vulnerability to COVID-19 and severe disease.

Methods: From August to December 2022, 612 members of the Hazelwood Health Study's adult cohort, established in 2016/17, participated in a follow-up survey that included standardized items to capture COVID-19 cases, as well as questions about hospitalization and vaccinations. Associations were evaluated in crude and adjusted logistic regression models.

Results: A total of 268 (44%) participants self-reported or met symptom criteria for having had COVID-19 at least once. All models found a positive association, with odds of COVID-19 increasing by between 4% and 30% for a 10 μg/m³ increase in coalmine fire-related PM_2.5 exposure. However, the association was significant in only 2 of the 18 models. There were insufficient hospitalizations to examine severity (n = 7; 1%).

Conclusion: The findings are inconclusive on the effect of coalmine fire-related PM_2.5 exposure on long-term vulnerability to COVID-19. Given the positive association that was robust to modelling variations as well as evidence for a causal mechanism, it would be prudent to treat PM_2.5 from fire events as a long-term risk factor until more evidence accumulates.

Keywords: COVID-19; air pollution; environmental and occupational health; epidemiology; smoke exposure cohort study.