Impact of short-term exposure to ambient air pollutants and meteorological factors on COVID-19 incidence and mortality: A retrospective study from Dammam, Saudi Arabia

The symptoms of COVID-19 included fever with or without respiratory syndrome, but patients subsequently developed pulmonary abnormalities. Exposure to air pollution, meanwhile, is associated with complications such as acute respiratory inflammations, asthma attack, and deaths from cardiorespiratory disease. To analyze the association of the air quality index (AQI), ambient air pollutants (PM₁₀, SO₂ and O₃) and meteorological parameters (temperature and relative humidity [RH]) with COVID-19 incidence and mortality, a retrospective study was conducted to examine COVID-19 infection, meteorological parameters, ambient air quality and ambient air pollutants in Dammam from 1 January to 30 April 2021. Data of COVID-19 incidence and mortality for Dammam were retrieved from Saudi Arabia Ministry of Health's publicly accessible database. Meteorological data, AQI and average PM₁₀, SO₂ and O₃ values were extracted from the publicly available website of Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture. The correlation of COVID-19 incidence and mortality with the independent variables was analysed by Pearson's correlation test or Spearman's rho test as applicable, and a <i>p</i>-value less than 0.05 was considered significant. COVID-19 incidence exhibited a positive correlation with temperature (<i>r</i> = 0.537, <i>p</i> = .0001) and a negative correlation with RH (<i>r=</i>-0.487, <i>p=</i>.0001). No correlation was observed between the meteorological variables and COVID-19 mortality. COVID-19 incidence showed a positive correlation with AQI (<i>r=</i>0.269, <i>p=</i>.015) and with the ambient air pollutants SO₂ and O₃ (<i>r=</i>0.258, <i>p=</i>.018), and COVID-19 mortality showed a positive correlation with PM₁₀ (<i>r</i> _<i>s</i> = 0.344, <i>p=</i>.002). Short-term exposure to O₃, SO₂ and higher temperature had direct relationship with COVID-19 incidence, while RH had inverse relationship. PM₁₀ is positively associated with COVID-19 mortality.