Evidence map›Paper›PMID 35901093›Full record

ArticlePloS one2022

The impact of environmental and climate parameters on the incidence and mortality of COVID-19 in the six Gulf Cooperation Council countries: A cross-country comparison study.

Basema Saddik, Manal A Awad, Najlaa Al-Bluwi, Amal Hussein, Ankita Shukla, Arwa Al-Shujairi, Hamzah AlZubaidi, Mohamed S Al-Hajjaj, Rabih Halwani, Qutayba Hamid

Open access · goldAbstract read
In one paragraph

Article in PloS one, 2022. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.3field-weighted citation impact, top 52% 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

1 citing paper in PubMed, 2 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Review
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

10 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.

Basema SaddikDepartment of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID 0000-0002-4682-5927
Manal A AwadDepartment of Preventive and Restorative Dentistry, College of Dental Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Najlaa Al-BluwiSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID 0000-0002-9495-7836
Amal HusseinDepartment of Family and Community Medicine and Behavioral Sciences, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID 0000-0002-0708-8119
Ankita ShuklaSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID 0000-0002-9657-3406
Arwa Al-ShujairiSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Hamzah AlZubaidiSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.ORCID 0000-0001-5122-271X
Mohamed S Al-HajjajClinical Sciences Department, College of Medicine, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Rabih HalwaniSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
Qutayba HamidSharjah Institute of Medical Research, University of Sharjah, Sharjah, United Arab Emirates.
University of Sharjah · AE

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundEnvironmental factors can influence the epidemiological dynamics of COVID-19. To estimate the true impact of these factors on COVID-19, climate and disease data should be monitored and analyzed over an extended period of time. The Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) countries are particularly lacking in such studies. This ecological study investigates the association between climate parameters and COVID-19 cases and deaths in the GCC.

methodsData on temperature, wind-speed and humidity and COVID-19 cases and deaths from the six countries of the GCC were collected between 29/1/2020 and 30/3/2021. Using Spearman's correlation coefficient, we examined associations between climate parameters and COVID-19 cases and deaths by month, over four different time periods. A two-step cluster analysis was conducted to identify distinct clusters of data using climate parameters and linear regression analysis to determine which climate parameters predicted COVID-19 new cases and deaths.

resultsThe United Arab Emirates (UAE) had the highest cumulative number of COVID-19 cases while Bahrain had the highest prevalence rate per 100,000. The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia (KSA) reported the highest cumulative number of deaths while Oman recorded the highest death rate per 100,000. All GCC countries, except the UAE, reported a positive correlation between temperature and cases and deaths. Wind speed was positively correlated with cases in Qatar, but negatively correlated with cases in the UAE and deaths in KSA. Humidity was positively correlated with cases and deaths in Oman, negatively correlated in Bahrain, Kuwait, Qatar and KSA but there was no correlation in the UAE. The most significant predictors in cluster analysis were temperature and humidity, while in the regression analysis, temperature, humidity and wind speed predicted new COVID-19 cases and deaths.

conclusionThis study provides comprehensive epidemiological information on COVID-19 and climate parameters and preliminary evidence that climate may play a key role in the transmission of the COVID-19 virus. This study will assist decision makers in translating findings into specific guidelines and policies for the prevention and elimination of COVID-19 transmission and infection.

Indexed as

COVID-19ClimateHumansHumidityIncidenceKuwaitOmanQatarSARS-CoV-2Saudi ArabiaUnited Arab Emirates

Identifiers

PMID35901093
PMCPMC9333301
OpenAlexW4288431692

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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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.