The association of wildfire air pollution with COVID-19 incidence in New South Wales, Australia.

ABSTRACT: The 2020 COVID-19 outbreak in New South Wales (NSW), Australia, followed an unprecedented wildfire season that exposed large populations to wildfire smoke. Wildfires release particulate matter (PM), toxic gases and organic and non-organic chemicals that may be associated with increased incidence of COVID-19. This study estimated the association of wildfire smoke exposure with the incidence of COVID-19 in NSW. A Bayesian mixed-effect regression was used to estimate the association of either the average PM₁₀ level or the proportion of wildfire burned area as proxies of wildfire smoke exposure with COVID-19 incidence in NSW, adjusting for sociodemographic risk factors. The analysis followed an ecological design using the 129 NSW Local Government Areas (LGA) as the ecological units.

SUBMITTER: Cortes-Ramirez J 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8532327 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature