The Rises of Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19) death rate in Japan with high PM2.5 [post]

Amin Nawahda
2020 unpublished
Currently vulnerable age groups in most countries are affected by the respiratory -coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19). Long-term-exposure to high levels of PM2.5 (particulate matter with aerodynamic diameter ≤ 2.5μm) is also associated positively with repository deaths. The aim of this study is to find if high PM2.5 levels affect COVID-19 caused deaths in Japan. COVID-19 caused death and tested positive cases in all prefectures during the study period from Feb. 18 up to Apr. 16, 2020 are
more » ... ed. PM2.5 caused deaths from 2010 to 2017 are calculated based on PM2.5-relative risk (RR) of 1.04 (95% CI: 1.01 – 1.08) from the World Health Organization-Air Quality Guidelines (WHO–AQG). The findings of this study show that old people who are living in prefectures with high levels of PM2.5 are the most vulnerable to COVID-19. The estimated death cases from 2010 to 2017 are about 115,532 (95% CI: 28,883 - 231,064) cases. Thus; policy decision makers could consider PM2.5 data to support their efforts not only to minimize the spread of COVID-19, but also to improve air quality.
doi:10.21203/rs.3.rs-27475/v1 fatcat:cq6uanwys5cylcodic5pyrvuau