Correlation of COVID-19 Mortality with Socioeconomic Status, Air Quality, and Housing Density
Thoracic Research and Practice, cilt.27, sa.4, ss.207-214, 2026 (ESCI, Scopus, TRDizin)
- Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
- Cilt numarası: 27 Sayı: 4
- Basım Tarihi: 2026
- Doi Numarası: 10.4274/thoracrespract.2025.2025-7-11
- Dergi Adı: Thoracic Research and Practice
- Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Emerging Sources Citation Index (ESCI), Scopus, TR DİZİN (ULAKBİM)
- Sayfa Sayıları: ss.207-214
- Anahtar Kelimeler: Air pollution, COVID-19 mortality, environmental exposure, housing density, socioeconomic status
- Açık Arşiv Koleksiyonu: AVESİS Açık Erişim Koleksiyonu
- Hacettepe Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet
Özet
OBJECTIVE: Studies have reported associations between coronavirus disease-2019 (COVID-19) mortality and socioeconomic status (SES) and air pollution, but few have investigated the association with housing density. This ecological study aims to demonstrate the relationship between the COVID-19 mortality rate and these variables in the districts of Ankara. MATERIAL AND METHODS: COVID-19 mortality rate calculations were based on data from the Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Cemetery Directorate. Air pollution data for the five years preceding the COVID-19 pandemic were obtained from the North Anatolia Clean Air Regional Directorate. The SES values for each district were divided into five categories. Housing density was calculated by dividing the number of households by the area of the district in square kilometers. RESULTS: Levels of NOX, O3, PM2.5, and NO (r = 0.78, 0.84, 0.74, and 0.80, respectively) and district-level SES (r = 0.43) were found to be moderately correlated with COVID-19-related deaths. COVID-19-related deaths were positively correlated with housing density (r = 0.68, P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: These variables interact closely and are correlated with COVID-19 mortality across districts of Ankara.