THE ROLE OF ENVIRONMENTAL POLLUTION AND HEALTH DISPARITIES ON COVID-19 IN LOUISIANA

Minority communities, especially African Americans are disproportionately impacted by COVID-19 in the United States (US). In Louisiana, African Americans account 32.2% (1.5 million) of the population with higher rates of social disparities and chronic health conditions such as heart disease, diabetes, obesity, asthma, and hypertension. These health conditions are often linked to long-term exposure to air pollutions and are known to compromise the immune system and increase vulnerability to COVID-19 infection and death. The aim of this study is to determine the associations between air pollution PM_2.5 and COVID-19 mortality rate and cumulative incidence rates. Spatial analysis of COVID-19 was conducted using Getis-Ord (GI*) statistics. Multivariate regression was used to quantify associations between PM_2.5 concentration with COVID-19 mortality rate. We found that Louisiana average long-term PM_2.5 (9.1 µg/m³) is higher than the U.S. (8.4 µg/m³). The increased risk of COVID-19 death and infection were associated with the length of PM_2.5 exposure. Twelve urban-counties with higher level of long-term PM_2.5 concentrations (>9.5 µg/m³) had higher burden of COVID-19 mortality rate per 10,000 population. A 1 µg/m³ increase in PM_2.5 is associated with a 22-46% and 10-24% increase in the African American COVID-19 death and incidence rates, respectively, adjusting for underlying conditions and other risk factors in three models (p<0.05). African Americans who were exposed to long-term PM_2.5, mortality rate was at least 11.3% higher than other races. The outcomes of the study highlight the importance of continuing to control air pollution and help to plan effective responses to prevent and mitigate the risks of COVID-19 infection, and future respiratory diseases on local and state levels.