Evidence map›Paper›PMID 32268945›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987)2020

Can atmospheric pollution be considered a co-factor in extremely high level of SARS-CoV-2 lethality in Northern Italy?

Edoardo Conticini, Bruno Frediani, Dario Caro

Open access · greenAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental pollution (Barking, Essex : 1987), 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 380 papers, 3 of them syntheses that pooled it.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
380citing papers in PubMed, 3 pooled it
87.4field-weighted citation impact, top 1% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

380 citing papers in PubMed, 3 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 924 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Pooled it
  2. Pooled it
  3. Pooled it
  4. Article
  5. Ambient Air Pollution and COVID-19 in California.Research report (Health Effects Institute) · 2026
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  11. Relationship between COVID-19 Cases and Environmental Contaminants in Quito, Ecuador.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2024
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  14. Review
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  18. Review
  19. Climate Changes and COVID-19.Advances in experimental medicine and biology · 2024
    Article
  20. Article

320 more citing papers are in PubMed but not listed here.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 2 countries.

Edoardo ConticiniRheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neurosciences, University of Siena, Policlinico Le Scotte, viale Mario Bracci 1, Siena, Italy.
Bruno FredianiRheumatology Unit, Department of Medicine, Surgery and Neurosciences, University of Siena, Policlinico Le Scotte, viale Mario Bracci 1, Siena, Italy.
Dario CaroDepartment of Environmental Science, Aarhus University, Frederiksborgvej 399, Roskilde, Denmark. Electronic address: dac@envs.au.dk.
University of Siena · ITAarhus University · DK

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

This paper investigates the correlation between the high level of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome CoronaVirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2) lethality and the atmospheric pollution in Northern Italy. Indeed, Lombardy and Emilia Romagna are Italian regions with both the highest level of virus lethality in the world and one of Europe's most polluted area. Based on this correlation, this paper analyzes the possible link between pollution and the development of acute respiratory distress syndrome and eventually death. We provide evidence that people living in an area with high levels of pollutant are more prone to develop chronic respiratory conditions and suitable to any infective agent. Moreover, a prolonged exposure to air pollution leads to a chronic inflammatory stimulus, even in young and healthy subjects. We conclude that the high level of pollution in Northern Italy should be considered an additional co-factor of the high level of lethality recorded in that area.

Indexed as

Air PollutionBetacoronavirusCoronavirus InfectionsCOVID-19CytokinesEnvironmental ExposureHumansItalyPandemicsPneumonia, ViralRespiratory Distress SyndromeSARS-CoV-2CytokinesARDSAtmospheric pollutionCoronavirusCovid-19Inflammation

Identifiers

PMID32268945
PMCPMC7128509
OpenAlexW3015019427

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.