Id |
Subject |
Object |
Predicate |
Lexical cue |
T224 |
0-159 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Our study is the first study to examine the association between long-term exposure to NO2 and PM2.5 and COVID-19 mortality at very high geographical precision. |
T225 |
160-458 |
Sentence |
denotes |
The spatial unit of our analysis is LSOAs, for which there are 32,844 in England (~130 000 km2), whereas previous studies have used 317 LTLAs or 175 sampling units in England, counties in the US (3 122 in an area ~9.8 million km2) and municipalities in the Netherlands (334 in an area ~41 500 km2). |
T226 |
459-628 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Such high-resolution allows capturing the localised geographical patterns of the pollutants but also ensures adequate confounding and spatial autocorrelation adjustment. |
T227 |
629-877 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Our study also covers, so far, the largest temporal window of the epidemic (capturing COVID-19 deaths attributable to the first wave, Supplemental Material Fig. S34), while most previous studies focused on the early to mid-stages of the first wave. |
T228 |
878-930 |
Sentence |
denotes |
This ensures better generalisability of the results. |
T229 |
931-1182 |
Sentence |
denotes |
In addition, physical distancing and other public health interventions were introduced nationwide in England during the first epidemic, mitigating any distortion between air-pollution and COVID-19 mortality due to potential regional level differences. |
T230 |
1183-1324 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Our results are also consistent in a sensitivity analysis focusing on the pre-lockdown period, in the absence of public health interventions. |
T231 |
1325-1495 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Based on the scientific literature, we adjusted for several variables which would act as the confounders of the relationship between air pollution and COVID-19 mortality. |
T232 |
1496-1686 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Nevertheless, since the aetiology and the factors contributing to COVID-19 mortality are not fully understood yet, we included a spatial random effect to capture unknown spatial confounding. |
T233 |
1687-1762 |
Sentence |
denotes |
The spatial random effect was found to be a crucial component in the model. |
T234 |
1763-1953 |
Sentence |
denotes |
Not accounting for spatial autocorrelation, when spatial autocorrelation is present, is expected to give rise to narrower credible intervals and false positive effects (Lee and Sarran 2015). |