Abstract / Description of output
Although the attention of the world and the global health community specifically is deservedly focused on the COVID-19 pandemic, other determinants of health continue to have large impacts and may also interact with COVID-19. Air pollution is one crucial example. Established evidence from other respiratory viruses and emerging evidence for COVID-19 specifically indicates that air pollution alters respiratory defense mechanisms leading to worsened infection severity. Air pollution also contributes to co-morbidities that are known to worsen outcomes amongst those infected with COVID-19, and air pollution may also enhance infection transmission due to its impact on more frequent coughing. Yet despite the massive disruption of the COVID-19 pandemic, there are reasons for optimism: broad societal lockdowns have shown us a glimpse of what a future with strong air pollution measures could yield. Thus, the urgency to combat air pollution is not diminished, but instead heightened in the context of the pandemic.
Original language | English |
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Pages (from-to) | 1460–1463 |
Number of pages | 4 |
Journal | European Heart Journal |
Volume | 42 |
Issue number | 15 |
Early online date | 28 Jan 2021 |
DOIs | |
Publication status | Published - 14 Apr 2021 |
Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)
- air pollution
- cardiovascular disease
- CVD
- environmental health impacts
- climate