Risk assessment of exposure to the Middle Eastern dust storms in Iran

Abstract

The aims of this study were to i) assess the relationship between COVID-19 cases with PM₁₀ concentration and ii) investigation premature deaths due to cardiovascular (M-CVD) and respiratory (M-RD) diseases in three classification levels (PM₁₀<50µg m⁻³ in normal days, 50–200 µg m⁻³ in dusty days, and >200 µg m⁻³ in MED storm), by using daily averages of PM₁₀ concentrations. The number of M-CVD and M-RD were estimated by concentration-response model, per 10⁵ people during 2017 to 2021. The results showed that 187, 183, 163, 215, and 206 days were observed with the PM₁₀ concentrations lower than 50 µg m⁻³ during 2017 to 2021, and 178, 180, 200, 150, and 149 days were subtotal with exceeding PM₁₀ from the WHO guideline (50 µg m⁻³), respectively. A positive correlation (r²=0.33, p < 0.05) was found to be between the number of COVID-19 cases and PM₁₀ mean concentrations (r = 0.589, p = 0.046). Our findings showed that the highest M-CVD and M-RD were among exposed people at dusty days (50 < PM₁₀≤ 200 μg m⁻³) in 2019. The total M-CVD and M-RD from 2017 to 2021 were 11.78 and 12.2, 18.25 and 17.4, 22.29 and 23.78, 10.33 and 7.6, 10.37 and 9.95 per 10⁵ people, respectively which 31.48% of health effects were related to PM₁₀ concentrations more than 200 μg m⁻³.

Keywords:

• air pollution
• health effect
• PM₁₀
• mortality
• Middle Eastern dust storm

Acknowledgement

The current study has been approved by the ethical committee Lorestan University of Medical Sciences (IR.LUMS.REC.1400.184). This article was also prepared in the Research and Education Center of Petroleum Industry Health Organization (PIHO) in Ahvaz, Iran.

Author contributions

YOK conducted the experiments, created the figures and tables, and drafted the manuscript. Reviewing and editing was conducted by PMB, RR, HRN and KA. PB gathered and analyzed the data, administrated the project, and reviewed the manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).