Ambient Air Pollutant Exposures and COVID-19 Severity and Mortality

Air Pollution & COVID-19 Severity Infographic

By Connor Castillo, USC

Authors of this study include Zhanghua Chen 1, Margo A. Sidell 2, Brian Z. Huang 2,3, Ting Chow 2, Sandrah P Eckel 4, Mayra P Martinez 2, Roya Gheissari 3, Fred Lurmann 5, Duncan C. Thomas 6, Frank D. Gilliland 1, Anny H. Xiang 7

1 University of Southern California, Preventive Medicine, Los Angeles, California, United States.

2 Kaiser Permanente Southern California Research and Evaluation, 166700, Research and Evaluation, Pasadena, California, United States.

3 USC Keck School of Medicine, 12223, Preventive Medicine , Los Angeles, California, United States.

4 University of Southern California, Preventive Medicine, Division Biostatistics, Los Angeles, California, United States.

5 Sonoma Technology, Petaluma, California, United States.

6 Keck School of Medicine, Biostatistics, Los Angeles, California, United States.

7 Kaiser Permanente Southern California Research and Evaluation, 166700, Research and Evaluation, Pasadena, California, United States; anny.h.xiang@kp.org.

Author Contributions: Z.C., M.A.S., B.Z.H., F.D.G., and A.H.X. were responsible for the study concept and design. A.H.X. and Z.C. obtained funding. A.H.X., Z.C., M.A.S., B.Z.H., T.C., S.P.E., M.P.M., R.G., F.L., D.C.T., and F.D.G. conducted the study. B.Z.H., M.A.S., T.C., M.P.M., and A.H.X., acquired data. B.Z.H, M.A.S., T.C., and A.H.X. analyzed data. Z.C., M.A.S., B.Z.H, R.G., and A.H.X. drafted the manuscript. All authors revised the manuscript for important intellectual content and approved the final version to be published.

Funding: This study was supported by the National Institute of Environmental Health Sciences (3R01ES029963-01 to AHX and ZC) at the National Institutes of Health, and the Keck School of Medicine Department of Preventive Medicine COVID-19 Pandemic Research Center (CPRC) at the University of Southern California. The funding agencies had no role in the design or conduct of the study; in the analysis or interpretation of the data; or in the preparation, review, or approval of the manuscript. The project protocol has been reviewed and approved by the Institutional Review Board at Kaiser Permanente Southern California and the University of Southern California.