French researchers have highlighted the impact of fine particle air pollution on mortality linked to Covid-19. After analyzing the health situation in 32 cities in Western Europe, including Paris, Bordeaux and Lille, the results of the survey are clear: a peak in pollution increases the mortality due up to five times. to the virus. One of the study authors explains their findings to us.
In a study published at the end of July in the journal Science of The Total Environment, French researchers have demonstrated the correlation between fine particle pollution and mortality linked to Covid-19. They studied around thirty European cities between 2020 and 2022 to reach an alarming conclusion: the mortality rate linked to Covid-19 can be multiplied by five in the event of a pollution peak as we have seen in certain cities in France just a few months ago.
Explanations from one of the authors of the study, Jean-Baptiste Renard, research director at the CNRS (National Center for Scientific Research), within the LPC2E laboratory (physics and chemistry laboratory, of the environment and space) in Orléans.
How did you discover this correlation between air pollution and virus-related mortality?
Very quickly, during the first phase of the epidemic, the question of the link between pollution and mortality arose. Many viruses spread more easily during periods of high pollution, when our respiratory system is irritated. This creates entry points for the virus. So there have already been publications on this subject in different European countries, a little in the United States.
We went much further since the study focuses on Western Europe, not at a given place and at a given time, but during the different phases of epidemic management, with the consequences confinement, vaccination… All depending on pollution.
Full article (Fr) : Ouest France