A systematic review and meta-analysis on the association between ambient air pollution and pulmonary tuberculosis

There is inconclusive evidence on the association between ambient air pollution and pulmonary tuberculosis (PTB) incidence, tuberculosis-related hospital admission and mortality. This review aimed to assess the extent to which selected air pollutants are associated to PTB incidence, hospital admissions and mortality. This was a systematic review of studies published in English from January 1st, 1946, through May 31st, 2022, that quantitatively assessed the association between PM(2.5), PM(10), NO(2), SO(2), CO, O(3) and the incidence of, hospital admission or death from PTB. Medline, Embase, Scopus and The Cochrane Library were searched. Extracted data from eligible studies were analysed using STATA software. Random-effect meta-analysis was used to derive pooled adjusted risk and odds ratios. A total of 24 studies (10 time-series, 5 ecologic, 5 cohort, 2 case–control, 1 case cross-over, 1 cross-sectional) mainly from Asian countries were eligible and involved a total of 437,255 tuberculosis cases. For every 10 μg/m(3) increment in air pollutant concentration, there was a significant association between exposure to PM(2.5) (pooled aRR = 1.12, 95% CI: 1.06–1.19, p < 0.001, N = 6); PM(10) (pooled aRR = 1.06, 95% CI: 1.01–1.12, p = 0.022, N = 8); SO(2) (pooled aRR = 1.08, 95% CI: 1.04–1.12, p < 0.001, N = 9); and the incidence of PTB. There was no association between exposure to CO (pooled aRR = 1.04, 95% CI: 0.98–1.11, p = 0.211, N = 4); NO(2) (pooled aRR = 1.08, 95% CI: 0.99–1.17, p = 0.057, N = 7); O(3) (pooled aRR = 1.00, 95% CI: 0.99–1.02, p = 0.910, N = 6) and the incidence of PTB. There was no association between the investigated air pollutants and mortality or hospital admissions due to PTB. Overall quality of evidence was graded as low (GRADE approach). Exposure to PM(2.5), PM(10) and SO(2) air pollutants was found to be associated with an increased incidence of PTB, while exposure to CO, NO(2) and O(3) was not. There was no observed association between exposure to these air pollutants and hospital admission or mortality due to PTB. The quality of the evidence generated, however, remains low. Addressing the tuberculosis epidemic by 2030 as per the 4th Sustainable Development Goal may require a more rigorous exploration of this association.